The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country, with about 20% of its area and 21% of its population located below sea level[6] with 50% of its land lying less than 1 metre above sea level [7] Significant land area has been gained through land reclamation and preserved through an elaborate system of polders and dikes. Much of the Netherlands is formed by the estuary of three important European rivers, which together with their distributaries form the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. Most of the country is very flat, with the exception of foothills in the far southeast and several low-hill ranges in the central parts.

History

Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land of France and Germany. The Eighty Years' War between the provinces and Spain began in 1568. In 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces formed the Union of Utrecht, a treaty in which they promised to support each other in their defense against the Spanish army.[8] The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. In 1581 the northern provinces adopted the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II of Spain.[9] Queen Elizabeth I of England sympathized with the Dutch struggle against the Spanish, and in 1585 she concluded a treaty with the Dutch whereby she promised to send an English army to the Netherlands to aid the Dutch in their war with the Spanish.[10] In December 1585, 7,600 soldiers were sent to the Netherlands from England under the command of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester.[11] However, the English army was wasted away in fruitless military campaigns in the Netherlands and had no real effect of helping the Dutch rebellion.[11] Robert Dudley returned to the Netherlands in November 1586 with another army.[12] However, the result was no better than it had been in 1585. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go easily, and war continued until 1648, when Spain under King Philip IV finally recognised the independence of the seven northwestern provinces in the Peace of Münster. Parts of the southern provinces became de facto colonies of the new republican-mercantile empire.

Dutch Republic 1581–1795

After independence, the provinces of Holland, Zeeland, Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel, and Gelre formed a confederation known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. All these provinces were autonomous and had their own government, the "States of the Province". The States-General, the confederal government, were seated in The Hague and consisted of representatives from each of the seven provinces. The sparsely populated region of Drenthe, mainly consisting of poor peatland, was part of the republic too, although Drenthe was not considered one of the provinces. Drenthe had its own states, but the landdrost of Drenthe was appointed by the States-General. The Republic occupied a number of so-called Generality Lands (Generaliteitslanden in Dutch). .These territories were governed directly by the States-General, so they did not have a government of their own and they did not have representatives in the States-General.^He said that these social and economic rights are also human rights, and that the governments responsible must ensure that they are not violated.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

The Dutch Empire grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century. In the Dutch Golden Age ("Gouden Eeuw"), colonies and trading posts were established all over the world. Dutch settlement in North America began with the founding of New Amsterdam, on the southern tip of Manhattan in 1614. In South Africa, the Dutch settled the Cape Colony in 1652. By 1650, the Dutch owned 16,000 merchant ships.[13] During the 17th century, the Dutch population increased from an estimated 1.5 million to almost 2 million.[14]

Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as such less benign phenomena as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636–1637, and, according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider, Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount.[15].The republic went into a state of general decline in the later 18th century, with economic competition from England and long standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society, the Staatsgezinden (Republicans) and the Prinsgezinden (Royalists or Orangists) as main factors.^The Newcomers Integration Act went into effect in 1998, whereby new immigrants are required to learn the Dutch language and culture sufficiently to enable them to work.

^At the end of a two-day visit to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, development minister Bert Koenders said that economic cooperation between Rwanda and the DR Congo could be a major stepping stone towards peace in eastern Congo.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

In the 17th century, plantation colonies were established by the Dutch and English along the many rivers in the fertile Guyana plains. The earliest documented colony in Guiana was along the Suriname River and called Marshall's Creek. The area was named after an Englishman.[16] Disputes arose between the Dutch and the English. In 1667, the Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of Suriname conquered from the English, resulting from the Treaty of Breda. The English were left with New Amsterdam, a small trading post in North America, which is now known as New York City.

From 1806 to 1810, the Koninkrijk Holland (Kingdom of Holland) was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom governed by his brother Louis Bonaparte in order to control the Netherlands more effectively. The name of the leading province, Holland, was used for the whole country. The Kingdom of Holland covered the area of the present day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory. In 1807, Prussian East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom. In 1809, however, after a failed British invasion, Holland had to give over all territories south of the Rhine to France.

King Louis Napoleon did not meet Napoleon's expectations — he tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's — and he was forced to abdicate on 1 July 1810. He was succeeded by his five-year-old son Napoleon Louis Bonaparte. Napoleon Louis reigned as Louis II for just ten days as Napoleon ignored his young nephew’s accession to the throne. The Emperor sent in an army to invade the country and dissolved the Kingdom of Holland. The Netherlands then became part of the French Empire.

The Netherlands remained part of the French Empire until the autumn of 1813, when Napoleon was defeated in the battle of Leipzig and forced to withdraw his troops from the country.

The largest Dutch settlement abroad was the Cape Colony. It was established by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company at Cape Town (Dutch: Kaapstad) in 1652. The Prince of Orange acquiesced to British occupation and control of the Cape Colony in 1788. The Netherlands also possessed several other colonies, but Dutch settlement in these lands was limited. Most notable were the vast Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname. These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble, and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). .Only then did they become official colonies.^It will become obvious when they've driven themselves to extinction and that only remaining American't lefties find they're a homosexual couple incapable of reproduction.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

During its colonial period the Netherlands was heavily involved in the slave trade. The Dutch planters relied heavily on African slaves to cultivate the coffee, cocoa, sugar cane and cotton plantations along the rivers. Treatment of the slaves by their owners was notoriously bad, and many slaves escaped the plantations. Slavery was abolished by the Netherlands in Suriname in 1863, but the slaves in Suriname were not fully released until 1873, after a mandatory 10 year transition period during which time they were required to work on the plantations for minimal pay and without state sanctioned torture. As soon as they became truly free, the slaves largely abandoned the plantations where they had suffered for several generations in favor of the city Paramaribo. Every year this is remembered during Keti Koti, 1 July, Emancipation Day (end of slavery).

During the 19th century, the Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighbouring countries, mainly because of the great complexity involved in modernizing the infrastructure, consisting largely of waterways, and the great reliance its industry had on windpower.

Although the Netherlands remained neutral during World War I, it was heavily involved in the war.[17]Count Schlieffen had originally planned to invade the Netherlands while advancing into France in the original Schlieffen Plan. This was changed by Helmuth von Moltke the Younger in order to maintain Dutch neutrality. Later during the war Dutch neutrality proved essential to German survival up till the blockade integrated by the United States and Great Britain in 1916 when the import of goods through the Netherlands was no longer possible. However, the Dutch were able to remain neutral during the war using their diplomacy and their ability to trade.[17]

The Netherlands intended to remain neutral during the Second World War. There were, however, contingency plans involving the armies of Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. Regardless, Nazi Germanyinvaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of their campaign against the Allied forces. French forces in the south and British ships in the west came to help but turned around quickly, evacuating many civilians and several thousand German prisoners of war from the German elite airborne divisions. The country was overrun in five days. Only after, but not because of, the bombing of Rotterdam the main element of the Dutch army surrendered on 14 May 1940; although a Dutch and French force held the western part of Zeeland for some time after the surrender. The Kingdom as such, continued the war from the colonial empire; the government in exile resided in London.

During the occupation, over 100,000 Dutch Jews[18] were rounded up to be transported to Nazi German concentration camps in Germany, German-occupied Poland and German-occupied Czechoslovakia. By the time these camps were liberated, only 876 Dutch Jews survived. Dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in German factories, civilians were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food for German soldiers in the Netherlands and for shipment to Germany. Although there were thousands[19] of Dutch who risked their lives by hiding Jews from the Germans, as recounted in The Heart Has Reasons[20] by Mark Klempner, there were also thousands[21] of Dutch who collaborated with the occupying force in hunting down hiding Jews. Local fascists and anti-Bolsheviks joined the Waffen-SS in the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands, fighting on the Eastern Front as well as other units.

On 8 December 1941, the Netherlands declared war on Japan.[22] The government-in-exile then lost control of its major colonial stronghold, the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia), to Japanese forces in March 1942. "American-British-Dutch-Australian" (ABDA) forces fought hard in some instances but were overwhelmed. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the Japanese interned Dutch civilians and used Dutch and Indos (Eurasians of Dutch and Indonesian descent) alike as forced labour, both in the Netherlands East Indies and in neighbouring countries.[23] This included forcing women to work as "comfort women" (sex slaves) for Japanese personnel. The Dutch Red Cross reported the deaths in Japanese custody of 14,800 European civilians out of 80,000 interned and 12,500 of the 34,000 POW captured.[24] A later U.N. report stated that 4 million people died in Indonesia as a result of famine and forced labour (known as romusha) during the Japanese occupation.[25] Some military personnel escaped to Australia and other Allied countries from where they carried on the fight against Japan. The Japanese furthered the cause of independence for the colony, so that after VE day many young Dutchmen found themselves fighting a colonial war against the new republic of Indonesia.

Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and heir to the throne, sought refuge in Ottawa, Canada, with her two daughters, Beatrix and Irene, during the war. During Princess Juliana’s stay in Canada, preparations were made for the birth of her third child. To ensure the Dutch citizenship of this royal baby, the Canadian Parliament passed a special law declaring Princess Juliana's suite at the Ottawa Civic Hospital “extraterritorial”. On 19 January 1943, Princess Margriet was born. The day after Princess Margriet's birth, the Dutch flag was flown on the Peace Tower. This was the only time in history a foreign flag has waved atop Canada’s Parliament Buildings. In 1944-45, the First Canadian Army was responsible for liberating much of the Netherlands from German occupation. The joyous "Canadian summer" that ensued after the liberation forged deep and long-lasting bonds of friendship between the Netherlands and Canada.[26] In 1949, Dutch troops occupied an area of 69 km2 (27 sq mi) of West Germany and annexed it. At that time, these areas were inhabited by almost 10,000 people.[citation needed]

Recent history

The Zuiderzeeworks were carried out from 1920 until 1975 and led to the creation of an entire new province. This province was established in 1986 and was given the name of Flevoland.

Geography

Rivers

The country is divided into two main parts by three large rivers, the Rhine (Rijn) and its main distributaries, the Waal and the Meuse (Maas). These rivers functioned as a natural barrier between earlier fiefdoms and hence created traditionally a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognizable north and south of these "Large Rivers" (de Grote Rivieren).

The southwestern part of the Netherlands is a river delta and two tributaries of the Scheldt (Westerschelde and Oosterschelde). Only one significant branch of the Rhine flows northeastward, the IJssel river, discharging into the IJsselmeer, the former Zuiderzee ('southern sea'). This river also forms a linguistic divide: people to the east of this river speak Dutch Low Saxon dialects (except for the province of Friesland, which has its own language).[27]

Floods

Over the centuries, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss is the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the southwest.

On 14 December 1287, St. Lucia's flood affected the Netherlands and Germany killing more than 50,000 people in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history.[28] The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72-square-kilometre (28 sq mi) Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the south-centre. The last major flood in the Netherlands took place in early February 1953, when a huge storm caused the collapse of several dikes in the southwest of the Netherlands. More than 1,800 people drowned in the ensuing inundations. The Dutch government subsequently decided on a large-scale program of public works (the "Delta Works") to protect the country against future flooding. The project took more than thirty years to complete.

The disasters were partially increased in severity through human influence. People had drained relatively high lying swampland to use it as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The problem remains unsolvable to this day. Also, up until the 19th century peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem.

To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium AD, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later, these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "water bodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (These agencies exist to this day, performing the same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century, windmills had come into use in order to pump water out of areas below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders.

In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 2,500 square kilometres (965 sq mi) were reclaimed from the sea.[29][30]

Delta works

After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 1997 with the completion of the Maeslantkering. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in South Holland and Zeeland to once per 10,000 years. (For the rest of the country, the protection level is once per 4,000 years.) This was achieved by raising 3,000 kilometers (1,864 mi) of outer sea-dykes and 10,000 kilometers (6,214 mi) of inner, canal, and river dikes to "delta" height, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally show problems requiring additional Delta project dyke reinforcements. The Delta project is one of the largest construction efforts in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climatic change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow.[31][32][33]

Climate

The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is southwest, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. The following tables are based on mean measurements by the KNMI weather station in De Bilt between 1971 and 2000:

Economy

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy in which the government has reduced its role since the 1980s. Industrial activity is predominantly in food-processing (Unilever, Heineken), financial services (ING), chemicals (DSM), petroleum refining (Shell), and electrical machinery (Philips, ASML).

Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands.[36] The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe's largest bourses. It is situated near Dam Square in the city's centre. As a founding member of the euro, the Netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the "Gulden" (guilder), on 1 January 1999, along with 15 other adopters of the Euro. Actual euro coins and banknotes followed on 1 January 2002. One euro was equivalent to 2.20371 Dutch guilders.

The Netherlands' location gives it prime access to markets in the UK and Germany, with the port of Rotterdam being the largest port in Europe. Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport. .The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners.^The Netherlands hopes that a coalition will soon be formed so that important issues can be dealt with promptly, the priority being a long-term solution to the crisis in Gaza.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Amsterdam is the 5th busiest tourist destination in Europe with more than 4.2 million international visitors.[37]

The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the five largest investors in the U.S. The economy experienced a slowdown in 2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports and strong investment. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007.The Netherlands moved up from the 11th position in the Global Competitiveness Index[38] to the 9th position in 2007

A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. .The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the United States and France, with exports earning $55 billion annually.^The Association is made up of Dutch students who have worked or studied in the United States on a Fulbright scholarship.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^In a letter sent on behalf of the Dutch government, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende congratulated President Obama on his inauguration as 44th President of the United States of America.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

A significant portion of Dutch agricultural exports are derived from fresh-cut plants, flowers, and bulbs, with the Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total. The Netherlands also exports a quarter of all world tomatoes, and one-third of the world's exports of chilis and cucumbers.[40]

One of the largest natural gas fields in the world is situated near Slochteren. Exploitation of this field resulted in a total revenue of €159 billion since the mid 1970s. With just over half of the reserves used up and an expected continued rise in oil prices, the revenues over the next few decades are expected to be at least that much.[41]

The monarch is the head of state, at present Queen Beatrix. Constitutionally, the position is equipped with limited powers. The monarch can exert some influence during the formation of a new cabinet, where they serve as neutral arbiter between the political parties. Additionally, the king (the title queen has no constitutional significance) has the right to be informed and consulted. Depending on the personality and qualities of the king and the ministers, the king might have influence beyond the power granted by the constitution.

Political parties

Due to the multi-party system, no single party has ever held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets had to be formed. Since suffrage became universal in 1919, the Dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: the strongest family were the Christian democrats, currently represented by the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), second were the social democrats, of which the Labour Party (PvdA) is currently the largest party, and third were the liberals, of which the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is the main representative. These cooperated in coalition cabinets in which the Christian democrats had always been a partner: so either a centre left coalition of the Christian democrats and social democrats was ruling or a centre right coalition of Christian democrats and liberals. In the 1970s, the party system became more volatile: the Christian democratic parties lost seats, while new parties became successful, such as the radical democrat and progressiveliberalD66.

In the 1994 election, the CDA lost its dominant position. A "purple" cabinet was formed by VVD, D66, and PvdA. In the 2002 elections, this cabinet lost its majority, due to the rise of the LPF, a new political party around the flamboyant populist Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated a week before the elections. The elections also saw increased support for the CDA. A short lived cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD, and LPF, which was led by the CDA leader democrats, Jan Peter Balkenende. After the 2003 elections in which the LPF lost almost all its seats, a cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD, and D66. The cabinet initiated an ambitious program of reforming the welfare state, the health care system, and the immigration policies.

Administrative divisions

The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris van de Koningin (Commissioner of the Queen), except for the province Limburg where the commissioner is called Gouverneur (Governor). All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), 431 in total (1 January 2010). The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are 27. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence.

Demographics

The Netherlands have an estimated population of 16,491,852 (as of 8 March 2009).[45] It is the 11th most populous country in Europe and the 61st most populous country in the world. Between 1900 and 1950, the country's population almost doubled from 5.1 to 10.0 million people. From 1950 to 2000, the population further increased from 10.0 to 15.9 million people, but the population growth decreased compared to the previous fifty years.[46] The estimated growth rate is currently 0.436% (as of 2008).[47] The fertility rate in the Netherlands is 1.66 children per woman (as of 2008),[47] which is high compared to many other European countries, but well below the 2.1-rate required for natural population replacement. Life expectancy is high in the Netherlands: 82 years for newborn girls and 77 for boys (2007). The country has a migration rate of 2.55 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants.

Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are also found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United States. According to the 2006 U.S. Census, more than 5 million Americans claim total or partial Dutch ancestry.[51] There are close to 3 million Dutch-descended Afrikaners living in South Africa.[52] In 1940, there were 290,000 Europeans and Eurasians in Indonesia,[53] but most have since left the country.[54]

There is a tradition of learning foreign languages in the Netherlands: about 70% of the total population have good knowledge of conversational English, 55– 59% of German and 19% of French.[59] Most Dutch secondary schools also teach classical languages and/or modern languages. Modern languages with official state exams are English, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, Russian and Frisian.[60]

Religion

The Netherlands is one of the most secular countries in Western Europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35). Fewer than 20% visit church regularly.[61]

Currently Roman Catholicism is the single largest religion of the Netherlands, forming the religious home of some 26.3% of the Dutch people, down from 40% in the 1970s. The Protestant Church of the Netherlands is followed by 11.4% of the population. It was formed in 2004 as a merger of the two major strands of Calvinism: the Dutch Reformed Church (which represented roughly 8.5% of the population) and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (3.7% of the population) and a smaller Lutheran Church. Other Protestant churches, mostly orthodox Calvinist splits, represent 6% of the population. In 2006 there were 850,000 Muslims, 5% of the total Dutch population.[62] The Netherlands has an estimated 250,000 Buddhists or people who feel strongly attracted by this religion, largely white Dutch. In 1998, there were only 16,000 including just 4,000 Dutch natives and 12,000 Buddhist immigrants from Asia. There are approximately 95,000 Hindus, of whom 85% originally came from Suriname. Netherland Sikhs are a religious minority in Netherland. They number around 12,000 and most of them live in or around Amsterdam. There are 5 gurudwaras in the Netherlands.

Although The Holocaust deeply affected the Jewish community, killing some 75% of the some 140,000 Jews at the time present in Netherlands, since then the community has managed to rebuild a vibrant and lively Jewish life for its approximately 45,000 present members. Before World War II, 10% of the Amsterdam population was Jewish.[63]

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,[64] 34% of Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".

In 1950, before the secularisation of Europe and the large settlement of non-Europeans in the Netherlands, most Dutch citizens identified themselves as Christians. In 1950, out of a total population of almost 13 million, a total of 7,261,000 belonged to Protestant denominations, 3,703,000 belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 1,641,000 had no acknowledged religion. Since then, the general collapse in religiosity has struck Protestants somewhat harder than Catholics, which partly explains why the Catholic Church has a larger percentage now. However, Christian schools are still funded by the government, but the same applies for schools founded on other religions, Islam in particular. While all schools must meet strict quality criteria, from 1917 the freedom of schools is a basic principle in the Netherlands.

Three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion and SGP) base their policy on the Christian belief system. Although The Netherlands is a secular state, in some municipalities where the Christian parties have the majority the council practices religion by praying before a meeting. Also in a few remaining (rural) spots, roads are closed for car traffic on Sundays and religious holidays. Municipalities in general also give civil servants a day off on Christian religious holidays, such as Easter and the Ascension of Jesus.[65] On 4 September 2008, a discussion was started by Tineke Huizinga whether Islam should receive a holiday, like Christianity. In 2005, 20% of the Dutch thought it should be a national holiday (which means the entire country receives a day off work or school) and 45% thought that Eid ul-Fitr should at least be recognized as a holiday.[66]

Education

The Netherlands has compulsory education from age 5 to 18 (or 16 as a study is completed which has given the student adequate professional skills to start as a professional in the labour market).

Pupils attend primary or elementary school from age 4 to age 12. After that they continue their education at secondary school minimally until age 18; which indicates one of three tracks in the Dutch educational system.

The vocational track starts with VMBO, which is seen as the lowest level of secondary education and lasts four years. Successfully completing VMBO results in a low level vocational degree and/or gives access to higher (secondary) levels vocational education. Completion of second level vocational education results in professional skills and gives access to further study a university of applied science.
The medium level HAVO lasts five years. After completion a student can attend a university of applied science, which award professional bachelor degrees. A degree at a university of applied science gives access to the university system.
The highest level of high school education is VWO, which lasts six years, completion of which allows students to attend a university. University consists of a three year bachelor's degrees, followed by one or two year master's degrees. A master's degree is required to start a four year doctoral degree. Doctoral candidates in the Netherlands are temporary employees of a university.

Military

The Netherlands has the oldest standing army in Europe; it was first established as such by Maurice of Nassau. The Dutch army was used throughout the Dutch empire. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Dutch army was transformed into a conscription army. The army was unsuccessfully deployed during the Belgian revolution in 1830. It was deployed mainly in the Dutch colonies, as the Netherlands remained neutral in European wars (including WWI), until the Netherlands was invaded in WWII and quickly conquered by the Wehrmacht in May 1940.

After WWII, the Netherlands dropped their neutrality, and the Dutch army became part of the NATO army strength in Cold War Europe; holding several bases in Germany. In 1996 conscription was ended, and the Dutch army was once again transformed into a professional army. Since the 1990s the Dutch army has been involved in the Bosnian War, the Kosovo War, has been holding a province in Iraq after the defeat of Saddam Hussein, and is currently engaged in Afghanistan.

The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal):

General Peter van Uhm is the current Commander of the Netherlands armed forces. All military specialities, except the submarine service, the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps (Korps Mariniers) are open to women. The Korps Commandotroepen, the Special Operations Force of the Netherlands Army, is open to women, but because of the extremely high physical demands for initial training, it is found impossible for women to become a commando. The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs almost 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilian and over 50,000 military personnel.[67]

^van Krieken, Peter J.; David McKay (2005). The Hague: Legal Capital of the World. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9067041858., specifically, "In the 1990s, during his term as United Nations Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali started calling The Hague the world's legal capital"

^ The preponderance of the Dutch population lived in two provinces, Holland and Zeeland. This area experienced a population explosion between 1500 and 1650, with a growth from 350,000 to 1,000,000 inhabitants. Thereafter the growth leveled off, so that the population of the whole country remained at the 2 million level throughout the 18th century; De Vries and Van der Woude, pp. 51-52

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, The Netherlands
in short, (Dutch:
Nederland, also commonly called Holland
in English, in reference to the provinces North-Holland and South-Holland) is a
Benelux country and a
founding member of the European Union. The Netherlands border Germany to the east and Belgium to the south. To the
west, the country faces the North Sea and the United Kingdom.
The people, language, and culture of the Netherlands are referred
to as "Dutch".

Understand

History

The southern part of the country was part of the Holy Roman
Empire until it was acquired piece by piece by the Burgundians. At
the end of the Middle Ages, it became a Spanish possession
(together with what is now Belgium). Little survives from this period,
except a few historic city centers, and a few castles.

Following the Dutch Revolt, led by national
hero William of Orange (Willem van Oranje), the
Netherlands became a de facto independent republic in
1572. The (first) split with Belgium came when the northern
provinces (including Flanders) signed the Union of Utrecht in 1579.
It grew to become one of the major economic and seafaring powers in
the world during the 17th century, which is known as the Dutch
Golden Age (Gouden Eeuw). During this period, many
colonies were founded or conquered, including the Netherlands East
Indies (currently Indonesia) and New Amsterdam (currently New York City),
which was later traded with the British for Suriname.

In 1805, the country became a kingdom when Emperor Napoleon
appointed his brother 'King of Holland'. In 1815, it became the
'United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Verenigd Koninkrijk der
Nederlanden) together with Belgium and Luxembourg under King William I (Willem
I). In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. Luxembourg received
independence from the Netherlands in 1890, as the Salic Law
prohibited a female ruler.

Avoiding the liberal revolutions of 1848 and new adopted Treaty,
The Netherlands quietly became a constitutional monarchy and
remained neutral in World War I but suffered a brutal invasion and
occupation by Germany in
World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is
also a large exporter of agricultural products. In 1944, the Low
Countries formed the union of the Benelux in which they economically (and
sometimes politically) work together. The country was a founding
member of NATO in 1949 and the European Community (EC) in 1957, and
participated in the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union
(EMU) in 1999.

Culture

Quite a few travelers visit the Netherlands to enjoy its
famously tolerant attitude: prostitution is
decriminalized, but only for those prostitutes registered at a
permitted brothel. Safe sex and use of condoms is common practice,
and the prostitute will usually have these available. It is illegal
for sex workers to solicit for customers on the street and
prostitutes are most common in the capital Amsterdam, where
red-light districts are popular, even if tourists only visit as a
momento of the visit. In more rural areas, prostitution is almost
non-existant. Sex shops, sex shows, sex museums and drugs museums
are also popular. The sale, possession, and consumption of small
quantities of cannabis while technically still
illegal, is officially tolerated, but coffeeshops are
subject to increasing restrictions. Harder drugs (eg. ecstasy or
cocaine) remain illegal both in theory and practice. In the same
open minded atmosphere is the Dutch ease towards
homosexuality, gay marriage is legalized. Also the
practice of Euthanasia is legalized under strict conditions.

Geography

The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries
in the world. No matter where you go, you are never far away from
civilization. Cities can be crowded especially in the Randstad
area, where congestion is a serious problem. Much of the country is
flat and at or below sea level making it an ideal place to cycle.
Hills can only be found at the Veluwe and Southern Limburg. Much of
countryside is dominated by highly industrialized farming - despite
its population density, the Netherlands are one of the largest food
exporters in the world. Though there are some beautiful spots
scattered across the country, the tourist expecting a countryside
full of picturesque villages, tulips and windmills may be in for a
bit of a shock. The villages, tulips and windmills are there for
sure, you just have to find them (for example, in the Waterland and Zaan Region).
The most beautiful places are most of the times the places only
known by the Dutch themselves. Asking a Dutch(wo)man for some ideas
of what to see could be helpful. Otherwise just visit local
'tourist shops', known as the VVV, they can be found in all the
larger towns.

The geography of the Netherlands is dominated by water features.
The country is criss-crossed with rivers, canals and dikes, and the
beach is never far away. The western coast of the Netherlands has
one of the most beautiful North Sea beaches that can be found,
attracting thousands if not millions of people every year, among
them a lot of Germans as well.

Regions

The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, administratively
divided into 12 provinces (provincies). Even though the
Netherlands is a small country, these provinces are quite diverse
and have plenty of cultural and linguistic differences. They can be
divided in four regions:

Get in

Netherlands is a member of the Schengen Agreement. For EU, EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) or Swiss citizens, an
officially approved ID card (or a passport) is sufficient for
entry. In no case will they need a visa for a stay of any length.
Others will generally need a passport for entry.

There are no border controls between countries that have signed
and implemented the treaty - the European Union (except Bulgaria,
Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom), Iceland, Norway
and Switzerland. Likewise, a visa granted for any Schengen member
is valid in all other countries that have signed and implemented
the treaty. But be careful: Not all EU members have signed the
Schengen treaty, and not all Schengen members are part of the
European Union.

Airports in Europe are thus divided into "Schengen" and
"non-Schengen" sections, which effectively act like "domestic" and
"international" sections elsewhere. If you are flying from outside
Europe into one Schengen country and continuing to another, you
will clear Immigration and Customs at the first country and then
continue to your destination with no further checks. Travel between
a Schengen member and a non-Schengen country will result in the
normal border checks. Note that regardless of whether you
travelling within the Schengen area or not, some airlines will
still insist on seeing your ID card or passport.

Keep in mind that the counter begins once you enter any country
in the Schengen
Area and is not reset by leaving a specific
Schengen country for another Schengen country, or vice-versa.

while British subjects with the right of abode in the
United Kingdom and British Overseas Territories citizens connected
to Gibraltar are considered "United Kingdom nationals for European
Union purposes" and therefore eligible for unlimited
access to the Schengen Area,

British Overseas Territories citizens without the
right of abode in the United Kingdom and British subjects
without the right of abode in the United Kingdom as well
as British Overseas citizens and British protected persons in
general do require visas.

However, all British Overseas Territories citizens except those
solely connected to the Cyprus Sovereign Base Areas are eligible
for British citizenship and thereafter unlimited access to the
Schengen Area.

(**) Serbian citizens with passports issued by the Serbian
Coordination Directorate (Serbs residing in Kosovo) still
do need a visa. Visas and long-term residence permits for
non-EU nationals are handled by IND [1].

There are a number of ways to get into the Netherlands. From
neighboring European countries, a drive with the car or a train
ride are feasible; visitors from further away will probably be
using air travel. Visitors from the United Kingdom can also travel
by boat.

By plane

Schiphol Airport [2]
, near Amsterdam, is a European hub, and after London, Paris, and
Frankfurt the largest of Europe. It is by far the biggest
international airport in the country, and a point of interest in
itself, being 4 metres below mean sea level (the name actually
translates as Hollow of Ships). Travellers can easily fly in from
most places of the world and then connect with The Netherlands'
biggest airline KLM [3].

From Schiphol there are excellent railway connections:
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and most large cities have
a direct train service. The train station at Schiphol is located
underground, under the main airport hall. The train is the quickest
and cheapest way to get around in the Netherlands. Taxis are
expensive: legal taxis have blue number plates, others should be
avoided. Some hotels in Amsterdam, and around the airport, have a
shuttle bus service.

Some budget airlines also fly to the Netherlands. Jet2.com [4], Easyjet [5], SkyEurope [6] and other low-cost carriers serve
Schiphol, providing a fairly economical way to city-hop to
Amsterdam from other spots in Europe. Especially flying to/from the British
Isles and the Mediterranian countries can be relatively cheap. It's
important that you book as early as possible, as prices tend to get
higher closer to departure.

Other international airports are Eindhoven
Airport, Maastricht/Aachen Airport,
Rotterdam Airport, and Groningen-Eelde
Airport. These smaller airports are mainly attended by
low-cost airlines. Eindhoven Airport and Maastricht/Aachen Airport
are mostly used by Ryanair [7],
while Rotterdam Airport is dominated by Transavia [8]. Trains or a direct bus
connection (in the case of Eindhoven Airport) are the best way to
get to Amsterdam or any other town.

It is also possible to come to the Netherlands via airports
lying in surrounding countries. Much-used airports are
Düsseldorf Airport and Brussels Zaventem
Airport.

By train

from France and Belgium

The Thalys high-speed train [9], which connects the
Netherlands with France and Belgium, is a bit expensive,
but if you book a return in advance or if you're under 26 or over
60 you can get good deals. It is also faster, normally cheaper and
more convenient than flying.

For trips to Brussels
or Antwerp it is usually
cheaper - and almost as fast - to catch the Benelux
train, which runs hourly from Amsterdam, via Schiphol, The Hague, Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Roosendaal. No seat
reservations are required - just buy your ticket and get on
board.

.Between Maastricht
and Brussels runs a new
hourly intercity service called the Maastricht Brussel
Express, which also stops at Liege.^'Your transatlantic love is proof of the lasting connection between old and new Amsterdam,' Cohen said in the service."

Trains run every hour between Heerlen and Eschweiler / Stolberg (Rheinland)
via Aachen.

By bus

Eurolines [11] is the main 'operator'
for international coaches to the Netherlands. (In fact the name
Eurolines is a common brand-name used by different operators).
Services are limited: only a few main routes have a daily service,
eg.from Poland, London, Milan, Brussels and Paris [12]. But
this is the cheapest way to travel and you get discount if your age
is less than 26.

Due to the Bosnian war in the 1990'ies there are bus companies
serving the Bosnian diaspora, which provide a cheap and clean way of getting to
the other side of the European continent. Semi tours[13] runs three times per week
from various destinations in Bosnia and Hercegovina to
Belgium and the Netherlands, Off-season approx 165€ for a return
ticket.

By car

The Netherlands can be reached from Belgium and Germany by road. Road access is very good in
this country. The borders are open under the terms of the Schengen
Agreement. Cars can be stopped behind the border for random checks,
but this barely happens. There are car ferry services from the
United Kingdom, see below. The UK is not part of the Schengen zone,
and full border checks apply.

By boat

There are three ferry services from the UK

Stena Line [14] between Harwich
and Hoek van Holland (Hook of Holland)

More information, timetables and ticket prices for the North Sea
ferries is available at Ferries To Amsterdam [17].
Dutchflyer[18] is a combination
ticket that includes the trainride from anywhere on the National
Express East Anglia [19] network
(including London and Norwich) to Harwich, the ferry, and the trainride
from Hook of Holland to anywhere on the NS (dutch railways)
network. Rotterdam is also the second largest port in the world,
and (in theory) a good place for Freighter travel.

Get around

The Netherlands has a fine-grained, well-organized public
transport system. Virtually any village can be reached by public
transport. The Dutch public transport system consists of a train
network which serves as backbone, extended with a network of both
local and interlocal busses. Amsterdam and Rotterdam have a metro network, and Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht also have trams.

By train

The country is densely populated and urbanised, and train
services are frequent. In the western Netherlands, the rail network
is more like a large urban network, with up to 12 trains per hour
on main routes. There are two main types of trains: Intercity
trains, and trains which stop at all stations (previously called
'Stoptrein'). (The Intercity is not as fast as 'Intercity' services
in some other countries, and it stops more often). Both types of
train have the same prices. Travelling all the way from the north
of the country (Groningen) to the south (Maastricht) takes about
4.5 hours.

Most lines offer one train every 30 minutes; only some rural
lines run every 60 minutes. Where more lines run together, the
frequency is of course higher. In the western Netherlands, the rail
network is more like a large urban network, with up to 12 trains
per hour on main routes.

The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) [20] operates
most routes. Some local lines are operated by Syntus, Arriva,
Veolia and Connexxion.

Because of the high service frequency, delays are quite common.
However, the delay is usually not more than 5 or 10 minutes. .Note
though that the NS boasts a punctuality of 80-85% (meaning that
percentage of trains departs/arrives within 3 minutes of the
scheduled time), which could be higher than you're used to.^Of course if you're that gone, will you have the foresight to use it?

Trains
can be crowded during the rush hour, especially in the morning, but
you should nearly always be able to find a seat. Reserving seats on
domestic trains is not possible.

There is a convenient night train service (for party-goers and
airport traffic) between Rotterdam, Delft, Den Haag, Leiden,
Schiphol, Amsterdam, and Utrecht, all night long, once an hour in
each direction. There is a direct and hourly night train service on
Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights between Rotterdam and Utrecht.
In the nights Friday onto Saturday and Saturday onto Sunday, North-Brabant is
also served. You can get to Dordrecht,'s-Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven,
Tilburg, and Breda.

Buying tickets

Tickets are available between all stations, NS and non-NS, and
there is only one national tariff system. Tickets are valid on both
sprinter and intercity services; there is no difference in price.
The most used tickets are the single (enkele reis) and
return tickets (retour). The latter are 1.67 times the
price of a single (or a single is 60% of the return price) and are
valid only for return on the day itself, or in case of the
weekendretour (same price as a normal return) between
Friday 19:00 and Monday morning 4:00. Tickets are valid in any
train on the route (as opposed to being valid in only one fixed
train). It is allowed to pause the travel at any station on the
route (even on stations on the route where you don't have to
change). Like in many countries, there is a difference between
first and second class. A second class ticket is 60% of the price
of a first class ticket. The main advantage of first class is that
it's less crowded, also seats and aisles are generally wider. For
children 4-11 years accompanied by adults, a Railrunner ticket can
be bought for €2.

Tickets cannot be purchased cheaper in advance like in some
countries. The ticket price is uniform and depends on distance.
Note that you can buy a ticket without a date in advance, which has
to be validated when entering the platform, but this doesn't make
the ticket cheaper, it's just for convenience. If you have a ticket
without a date printed on it, do not forget to validate it by
putting it in the small yellow boxes which are usually located at
the platform entrance.

Tickets can be purchased from machines in stations using debit
cards (international debit cards are accepted if they have the
Maestro symbol on it). Some of the machines – at least one at each
station – also accept coins (but no notes!). Only larger stations
have a ticket counter — you pay €0.50 more than at the machine, per
ticket. Ticket machines come in two kinds: an older version with an
two-line greenish LCD display, and a new version with a big touch
screen. The latter has English-language menus available. There is
also a demonstration of this system [21] on the
internet. A common mistake made by foreigners is accidentally
getting a 40% discount ('korting') ticket from the machine. A
special discount-card is required for these tickets, although you
can travel on other people's discount cards too. (See Discount rail pass). If you
have trouble using the ticket machine, ask someone else for help;
almost everyone speaks English and will help you out. It is also
possible to buy e-tickets [22] online, although
at the moment a dutch bank account for payment (iDEAL) is
necessary.

You must buy a ticket before travelling — since
2005, you can no longer simply buy a ticket from the conductor, as
in some other countries. If you buy a ticket onboard, you will have
to pay the normal price plus a € 35 fine. If the ticket
machines are defective, go to the conductor immediately when
boarding. The conductor is not allowed any discretion on this
policy, though being polite and pretending to be an ignorant
tourist might help you – but is not guaranteed – to get away with
having an invalid ticket. In worst case though, if you do not have
either enough cash, or a passport, you could be arrested by railway
police.

In the station

While many villages have small stations with only one or two
platforms and no railway staff, cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht have large central stations with up to
14 platforms. It can take 5-10 minutes to move from one platform to
another, especially for people not familiar with the station. The
platforms are all numbered. When platforms are so long that two or
more trains can halt at the same platform, the different parts of
the platform are indicated with the lowercase letters a/b/c. On
some stations, capital letters are used to indicate which part of
the train stops at which part of the station. Do not confuse the
lowercase and uppercase letters.

Time tables can be found in the station hall and on the
platforms. All train tables are yellow. Departing train tables are
printed in blue, arriving train tables in red. Unlike in other
countries, the trains are not ordered by time of departure, but by
direction. Additionally, more and more stations have blue
electronic screens, indicating the trains departing during the next
hour.

Discount rail pass

Visitors planning to travel by train in the Netherlands should
consider the Eurail pass with
the Benelux package. This
allows for unlimited train travel within Belgium, the Netherlands,
and Luxembourg over multiple days. Europeans, not being eligible
for Eurail passes, should look into Inter Rail Passes for their discount train
travel.

If two or three people want to travel around the Netherlands
together for a few days during the summer, the Zomertoer
may be used. This pass gives them two, not necessarily consecutive,
days of unlimited travel. An add-on also allows you to travel on
all other public transportation in the country. In autumn weekends,
the Herfsttoer also gives some discounts.

If you're thinking of staying a longer time in the Netherlands
it can be a good deal to get the "Voordeelurenkaart" (Off-Peak
Discount Pass), which gives the cardholder (and up to three
additional persons travelling with him or her) 40% off for one
year. 40% discount tickets are valid after 9:00AM on weekdays and
the whole day in weekends, on national holidays and in the months
July and August. Price €55 for one year (2009). The
voordeel-urenkaart must be applied for in advance and can take some
weeks to process. A temporary card, which can be used for four
weeks, will be issued right away when you apply. Since 2007,
applying for a card requires a photograph.

If you're only in the Netherlands for one day and want to see
much of the country by train, you may want to get an "OV-Dagkaart".
It's on all-inclusive ticket for all public transportation for € 45
(2009). But note: it may be cheaper to just buy a ticket. For
example: to get your money's worth on the OV-dagkaart would require
about 6 hours train travel in one day.

Slightly more adventurous is to make use of the extra advantages
of 'Off-peak Discount Passes' or people who have a 'Year Pass'
(most students or some cival servants). It is possible, but some
people may be offended when asked by strangers. There is a way to
travel cheaper without having a pass yourselves: find a student
with an 'O.V.-kaart' (Year Pass for Public Transportation), or
someone who possesses a 'Voordeel-urenkaart' who travels on the
same traject as you do. They are allowed to take up to three fellow
travelers (this would be you) who can enjoy a 40% discount. You
have to buy the discounted railway-ticket in advance (no need to
show your Pass at the desk or buy it from an automatic ticket
machine), but it won't be a problem to find someone accompanying
you. This deal only works during weekends, or during weekdays after
9:00AM, on national holidays and in the summer months July and
August. When the conductor asks for you 'cheaper' railway-ticket;
the fellow who is accompanying you must show his 'Discount' or
'Year Pass'. It doesn't matter who it is as long as someone helps
you out during your travel (when they come to check the tickets).
Please note that both passengers should travel the same route. So
only when you traveling with a discount card this should be taken
in attention. Travelers with a 'O.V.-kaart', don't need to by a
additional train ticket so there journey is unknown when they check
the tickets.

By bus

The network of regional and local buses in the Netherlands is
fine-grained and frequent and usually connects well with the train
network; you can reach most small villages easily. However, for
long-distance travel, these regional buses are not convenient at
all, and are much slower than the train.

Fast long-distance buses are only available on a small number of
routes that aren't covered by the rail network; these buses have
special names that differ by region, such as Q-liner,Brabantliner and Interliner, and special
tariffs.

There are four main bus companies in the Netherlands,
Connexxion,Veolia,Arriva and
Qbuzz. A few large cities have their own bus company.

A cheap way to get across the Netherlands is to buy a "buzzer"
ticket. It costs €10 a day, and is valid after 9AM on every single
Connexxion bus for two grownups and up to three children. On
weekends and holidays it is also valid before 9AM. Because
Connexxion has a near monopoly on the bus market, you can get from
Groningen to Zeeland this way in a day, and it undercuts the train.
A big downside though is that bus lines are very indirect. For
example, if you want to travel from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, you
have to change three or more times to get all the way there. In
short: bus journeys will almost always take longer than train
travel. For example, trip to Rotterdam from Utrecht will take 40
minutes, but in the Bus it will take 1 hour and 30 minutes.
However, if you want to enjoy the countryside and villages you can
prefer the bus trips.

Many companies and regions have their own bus discount tickets,
which are often cheaper than the strippenkaart.

Metro, tram

The two largest cities Amsterdam and Rotterdam have a (small) metro network which
runs mainly on bridges outside the city centers, and underground
within the center. Furthermore there is a large city tram network
in the agglomerations of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague; Utrecht has two sneltram lines (fast
tram or light-rail).

(National) Strippenkaart
(multiple-strip-/zone-card)

In bus, tram and metro (but not trains), there is a national
ticketing system, called the strippenkaart OV-Info
[23]. Strippenkaarten of 15 or 45
strips are available for €7.30 and €21.60 respectively (2009). A
trip always costs the number of zones you travel through, plus one.
So a trip through one zone costs two strips, a travel through two
zones costs three strips, etc. For example: starting fee +
Amsterdam center + Amsterdam east = 3. A trip on the bus within a
city is usually 2 or 3 strips of the card (1 or 2 zones). You can
change buses, trams and metros (even between companies) an
unlimited number of times, or pause your trip and return in
opposite direction for a fixed amount of time dependent on the
number of strips:

up to 3 zones: 1 hour

up to 6 zones: 1,5 hours

up to 9 zones: 2 hours

up to 15 zones: 3 hours

16 or more zones: 3,5 hours

When using the strippenkaart, it is often most convenient to
tell the bus driver your destination, and he will stamp the card in
the right place. In some busses and trams, you can stamp the card
yourself at the yellow boxes at the platforms or inside. In metro's
and the sneltram in Utrecht,
this is even necessary as you cannot speak to the driver.

You can get 15- and 45-strippenkaarten in many places, including
bus stations, post offices, cigar/magazine shops and some
supermarkets (at the service desk or from a vending machine). On
the bus smaller strippenkaarten of 2 and 3 strippen are available.
These are more more expensive (it costs about twice as much) and
not recommended, unless you don't want to use the buses more than
once or twice.

The strippenkaart can also be used for multiple-party travel for
yourselves and other persons at the same time. In this
circumstance, stamp the last strip for every passenger. For
example, when travelling with two passengers for three zones (which
corresponds to three strips) on a blank card, stamp strip number
four and eight.

If the card is nearly full, you can split up a trip on the old
card and a new card. In this case, also stamp the last strip of the
old card.

In general this 'card' is valid up till one year after new
pricing. If you are eligible for discount (due to the fact that you
are a Dutch student with special student-O.V.-card, or under 12 or
over 65) you can buy special reduced - cheaper - pink ones, which
will get you the same mileage for a better price.

Keep in mind that you don't pay to get to a certain destination,
but rather for the distance that you travel from your departure
point. For example, if you stamp 2 zones in Amsterdam center, the
following ride is possible:

because it's all in a 1 zone radius from Amsterdam center.
Again, be sure that your stamp is still valid (you can always ask
the driver).

The strippenkaart is not valid in some highway busses and night
busses.

When using the strippenkaart, it is often most convenient to
tell the bus driver your destination, and he will stamp the card in
the right place. You can do it yourselves as there is a special
automat-machine available. In general one basic-strip+strips
according to amount of zones to be travelling.

Special bus tickets or
'park-and-ride-(travel-)tickets'

Some towns and cities have special cheaper bus tickets from car
parks near the city limits to the city centre, for outside rush
hours, usually a return ticket.

OV chipcard

The strippenkaart is being replaced by a pre-paid public
transport chipcard system (i.e. OV chipcard) on all forms
of public transport ('Openbaar Vervoer'). The system is now
operational in all forms of public transport in Rotterdam and
Amsterdam (metro, trams, buses), in trains operated by NS, and most
(but certainly not all!) busses in the rest of the country. In
Rotterdam and Amsterdam, it's the only way of paying in the metro;
in buses and trams in Rotterdam and Amsterdam both chipcard and
strippenkaart can be used. Even though both systems will operate in
parallel in buses and trams in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in 2009, at
some point in the coming years the chipcard will be the only way of
paying your travel in the metro/bus/tram system of those cities,
and after them other cities will follow. Rotterdam will abandon the
strippenkaart on all forms of public transport (except train) on 11
February 2010. In
this map of the Netherlands the purple colour indicates where
the chip card can currently be used.

The OV chipcard will come in three prepaid versions: a
'throwaway' version with the amount in euros for 2 or 3 travels. An
'unpersonal version' directly available at a special OV counter for
a basic-fee (€7.50) + re-usable and rechargable top-up-amount in
euros (valid up till 5 years) for multiple travel for one person at
the time. It may be handed over to some-one else for another travel
at a different time; in case of theft or loss it cannot be
replaced. And a 'personal version', to be registred and applyed in
advance with passport-sized photo and copy of I.D. and (Dutch)
bank-account. This version will be only valid for the bearer of the
personalized OV chipcard and works similar to the unpersonal
version, but also will register all your travels and movements in
the Netherlands. In case of theft or loss it can be replaced. Note
that a OV chipcard bought anywhere can be used everywhere.

The card has a credit associated with it, when travelling you
have to check in at a terminal by holding the card against it. In
busses and trams terminals are a small box near the entrances and
exits, at train stations they can usually be found on the platform
or in the train terminal, and at metro stations you open the gates
with it. The terminal then writes off an amount of 4 or 5 euros, or
20 euros in trains, this is a deposit. It is possible to have a
negative credit one time, except in trains. Then if you reach your
destination you check out again, the system then gives back the
deposit, minus the amount due for the distance travelled. The
terminal usually shows the credit left on the card when checking
out. If you don't check out you will not get the deposit back!

At train stations some ticket machines can read the data on the
card, and it can show you the credit left, and the costs of the
last travels made with it.

It's possible to get the credit that's on your card payed back
to you, at a chip card information desk, but it seems to be
discouraged: you can only do this if the amount on your card is
between €5 and €30, and you pay an administration fee of €2.50.

Night buses

Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht offer public transport
at night. Only Amsterdam has a service all night and every night;
in the other cities it is more limited, e.g., to the first part of
the night, or only during the weekend. Several other cities and
regions also have night buses, usually even more limited.

In general these request extra (cash) payment on top of the
ordinary ('day-time') strippenkaart or special night-bus tickets.
In some cases the ordinary 'strippenkaart' is not valid at all and
only to be used for daytime travel.

Traffic information

All public transport companies participate in the OV Reisplanner
[24] (Public Transport Travel
Planner), which can plan a trip for you using almost all public
transportation types. They only know about scheduled detours,
however. This is also available by telephone: 0900-9292 (€ 0,70 per
minute).

Information about the trains can be found at the Nederlandse
Spoorwegen (NS) website [25],
which includes a trip planner which uses the latest information
about train delays and detours.

By car

A car is a good way to explore the countryside, especially
places not connected by rail, such as Veluwe, Zeeland and The North
Sea islands. The motorway network is extensive, though heavily
used. Congestion during peak hour is usual and can better be
avoided. Roads are well signposted. When driving in cities, always
give priority to cyclists when turning across a cycle lane. If you
are involved in a collision with a cyclist, you will be
automatically assumed to be guilty (until proven innocent). If you
only wish to see cities a car is not the best option. Due to
limited road capacity and parking, cars are actively discouraged
from entering most bigger cities.

Public transport buses have the priority when leaving a
bus stop, so be careful as they may pull in front of you
expecting that you will give way.

Drive on the right. The speed limit in built up areas is 50 km/h
with some zones limited to maximum of 30 km/h. Outside of towns
speed is limited to 80 km/h (this includes most N-roads). On some
local roads the speed limit is 60 km/h. On the highways the limit
is 120 km/h except on some roads where the limit is 100 km/h.
During rush hour signs above many roads indicate the current speed
limit. On semi-highways and some of the N-roads the speed limit is
100 km/h.

Your speed will be checked nationwide by the police and fines
are heavy. Pay extra attention to Trajectcontrole
signs: that means that in the road you're driving there is an
automatic system that checks your average speed on a long section.
Radar detectors are illegal devices to have in your car. They will
be impounded and you will be fined €250. Keep in mind that the
police use so-called radar detector detectors to track down radar
detector users, so it is best to turn them off while in Holland.
Drinking and driving is not allowed and this is enforced strongly.
Breathalyzer tests occur frequently, both on an individual basis
(i.e. you get pulled over and the police see it necessary for you
to undergo a breathalyzer test) as on a bigger scale (i.e. the
police has set up a designated control checkpoint on a highway). A
unbroken yellow line next to the sidewalk means no
stopping, a broken yellow next to the sidewalk means
no parking. Some crossings have "shark teeth"
painted on the road, this means you have to give way to the other
traffic.

Note that police also use unmarked traffic surveillance cars,
especially on the highways. They have a video surveillance system
and often they don't stop you right after doing a
violation but they keep on following you. That means if you do more
violations, you'll be fined for everything you did. Note that the
policemen in unmarked cars are obliged to identify
themselves after pulling you over, which means you shouldn't have
to ask. Policemen in marked cars only have to show their ID when
you ask them for it, but they too are obliged to show it when
asked.

If your car breaks down on the highway you might go to the
nearest roadside emergency telephone; these "praatpalen" can be
recognized as they are about 1.5m high, yellow and have a rounded
bunny-eared cap on top. This is the direct connection to the
emergency and assistance services. Alternatively, you might use a
mobile phone to recht the ANWB [26]
autoclub via toll-free number 0800-0888; your membership of a
foreign autoclub might entitle you to discount rates on their
services. Leased (business) cars and rental cars are usually
serviced by the ANWB services included in the lease/rental price;
but you may want to check any provided booklets.

If you are involved in an accident, both drivers need to
complete and counter-sign a statement for their respective
insurance companies (damage form/"schadeformulier"). You are
required to have this form on hand. The police need to be notified
if you have damaged (public) property (especially along the
highways), if you have caused any sort of injury, or if the other
driver does not agree to sign the insurance statement. It is
illegal to hit and run. If the other driver does this, call the
police and stay at the scene. The emergency telephonenumber is 112
(tollfree, will even work from disconnected mobile phones); the
telephonenumber for non-emergency police presence is 0900-8844.

Road signs with directions are plenty, but having a map is
useful, especially in cities where there are many one way streets,
and getting from one part of the city to another is not always so
straightforward. Be careful not to drive on buslanes, often
indicated with markings such as Lijnbus or Bus,
nor on cycling paths, marked by the picture of a bicycle, or by a
reddish color of asphalt. Also, do not use the rush-hour-lanes
(Spitsstrook) when the matrix display above the designated
lane indicates a red "X" - this means they cannot be used.

Fuel is easy to come by. Along highways many gas stations are
open 24/7. More and more unmanned gas stations can be found, even
along highways, selling petrol for a lower rate. These unattended
stations accept all common debit and creditcards. All gas stations
sell both petrol and dieseloil; the "premium" brands have the same
octane level (they alledgedly contain compounds that improve fuel
efficiency to offset the higher price). Liquid Petroleum Gas is
sold at relatively many gas stations along the high ways, but it is
never sold in built-up areas. The symbol for LPG gas is a
green-colored gaspump-icon, set beside the general case
black-colored gaspump-icon. LPG fueled cars need regular petrol to
start the motor, and can also be operated using strictly petrol,
though it is more expensive.

If you come in the Netherlands with your LPG fueled car,
probably you will need an adaptor. If you buy in your country, ask
for the specific Dutch adaptor. The plug sold as
"european" (screw style), is used in Belgium, Luxembourg and
Germany but won't fit Dutch pumps.

Do not use diesel oil pumps meant for trucks to fuel your cars;
while the diesel oil is the same, the pressure is much higher.

Parking fees within cities can be pretty steep. When considering
going to bigger cities, such as Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam,
consider use of public transportion to avoid traffic jams and the
great difficulties involved in finding a parking spot. P+R
park and ride facilities are available at the
outskirts of bigger cities; you can park your car cheaply there,
and continue your journey via public transport.

By taxi

Taxi service was traditionally a tightly guarded monopoly. In
recent years, the market was deregulated, but prices are still
high. Taxi drivers are licensed, but they do not, as of yet, have
to pass a proficiency exam, providing they know the streets. This
is planned in the future, since the taxi market is being
re-regulated. In the bigger cities taxi drivers can be un-friendly
to very rude. One will find that especially in the western part of
the country the cost of a taxi are very high for very little
politeness and service. The public transport system often proves to
be cheaper and a lot faster.

Some taxi drivers refuse short rides (e.g. under €10). This is
illegal, but it's hard to enforce this prohibition. There is a
maximum tarriff, and it's built into the taxi meters. If you
negotiote a price before you get in, the price you have to pay is
the negotiated price, or the metered price, whichever is lower.
Getting in a cab without enough money to pay for the ride is
illegal, so it's wise to negotiate a price.

All legal taxis have blue license plates. So do some other
vehicles for group transport, such as minibus services for the
handicapped.

By thumb

Generally okay. Not okay for a quick travel from small towns or
non-highway due to lack of traffic; sometimes you will get help
from hospitable locals. But gas-stations at highways are quite good
places. So try to stay on the highways/motor-ways! However, the
large amount of highway crossings in the Netherlands and the lack
of fuel stations between them in the Randstad makes it difficult to
travel fast over long distances.
At the beginning of or where it leads to highways/motorways it is
not officially but mosttimes allowed as long as you stay before the
traffic-sign highway/motorway on a spot where cars have slow-speed
and it is possible for drivers to let you quickly step in. Also
traffic-lights are sometimes an option.

There are official hitchhiking spots (liftershalte(s))
(lift-stops) at the center or edge of 7 major cities:

Prins Bernhardplein , before NS Station Amsterdam Amstel (on
east side of the river Amstel) (past the bus stop). Leads to the
ramp of the S112 of the A10, direction E231-A1/E35-A2. It is
recommended for the directions Middle-/East-Netherlands. For other
directions/routes try also alternative spots.

Alternative spots / other
directions:

(It is recommended for the directions
West-/South-Netherlands)

Amstel (on the west side of the river Amstel) near
traffic-lights/Utrechtsebrug and near beginning-/end-stop of
Tram-line 25. Leads to the ramp of the S111 of the A10, directions
E35-A2-E25/E231-A1.

Junction S109 of the A10, close to NS Station RAI (RAI Congress
Centre; specially when there are large events or congresses). Leads
to the ramp of the S109 of the A10, directions
E35-A2-E25/E19-A4/E231-A1.

At bus stop Amstelveenseweg / Ringweg Zuid just northeast from
metro station Amstelveensweg. There is an on-ramp which leads to
the A10 North, A4 South and A9 (both directions). What makes this
location convenient is that cars can easily stop in the bus lane in
order to pick you up.

close to petrol station and ramp of the Waterlinieweg near 'De
Galgewaard' soccer-football-stadium, north to A27/A28, south to
A2/A12/A27.

By bicycle

Cycling in the Netherlands is much less hazardous than in other
countries, because of the infrastructure - cycle paths, cycle
lanes, and signposted cycle routes. However, the proliferation of
bicycles also means that you're seen as a serious part of traffic -
motorists will hate you if you don't keep by the rules. Some things
to know:

Cycle lanes and cycle paths are indicated by a round blue sign
with a white bike icon, an icon on the asphalt, or by red asphalt.
Using them is mandatory.

Cyclists must obey the same traffic signs as motorists, unless
exempted. For example, a cycle icon under a no-entry sign, usually
with the text 'uitgezonderd' (except), means cyclists may use the
street in both directions.

Where there is no cycle lane or path, use the regular road.
This is unlike the rule in Germany and Belgium, where you are
supposed to use the footpath in many places.

On some narrow streets that do have a cycle path parallel to
them, mopeds may be required to use the cycle path, rather than the
main street (as is usual).

Bicycles must have working front (white) and rear (red) lights.
Reflectors are not sufficient. You may be fined (€ 40) for
cycling in the dark without a light, and you seriously endanger
yourself and other traffic by doing so. Small, battery-operated LED
lights attached to your person are allowed.

There are four ways to use a bicycle:

if you are staying in a city, you can use the bike as a means
of transport, to get from A to B. This is the way local people use
it, for short journeys it is faster than car, bus or tram. You can
use the bike to get to places near the city, which may not be
accessible by public transport.

you can cycle around on the bike, in a city, or in the
surrounding area. The bike is then a means to see places and
landscapes. The many signposted cycle routes are
designed for this, most of them are octagonal and take you back to
the starting point. Some rural routes go through areas inaccessible
by car. Signs for bicycle routes are usually white, with a red
border and lettering. One thing to note that mainly in the southern
part of the Netherlands, it's possible to create your own routes by
connecting marked and numbered points called "knooppunten".

you can take the bike on a train, for a day trip to another
city or region. It costs € 6, and you may not travel with a bike in
the rush hour. You must carry a supplementary ticket, which is
easily obtained from the automated kiosks. As an alternative, you
can easily hire bikes at (or near) stations. Folding bikes can be
taken on board for free when folded.

you can load your tent on the bike, and set off across the
country. For this you do need to be fit, and not afraid of rain.
The national long-distance cycle routes are
designed for this type of holiday, see Cycling in the Netherlands
Long-distance routes
[27].

Bike theft

Bike theft is a serious problem in the Netherlands, especially
around train stations, and in larger cities. Never park a bike near
a station, use the guarded bike parking ('stalling'). In general,
use 2 locks of different kinds (for example, one
chain lock and one tube lock). This is because most bike thieves
specialize in a particular kind of lock, or carry equipment best
suited to one kind of lock. Ideally, you should lock the bike to a
lamppost or similar. Bike thieves have been known to simply pickup
unattached bikes and load them into a pickup truck, so they can
crack open the locks at leisure.

In cities, most bikes are stolen by drug addicts, and they sell
most stolen bikes too. In fact they simply offer them for sale to
passers-by, if they think no police are watching. Buying a stolen
bike is itself illegal, and police do arrest buyers. If you buy for
a suspiciously low price (e.g. € 10 to 20), or in a suspicious
place (in general, on the street), the law presumes you "know or
should have known" the bike was stolen. In other words actual
ignorance of the bike's origins is no excuse.

Bike shops are the best place to buy a second-hand bike legally,
but prices are high. Some places where you can rent bikes will also
sell their written off stock, which is usually well maintained.
Most legal (and often cheap) second-hand bike sales now go through
online auction sites like marktplaats.nl - the Dutch subsidiary of
Ebay.

By plane

Even though it's not common to use air travel within the
Netherlands, the following carriers offer domestic flights:

Talk

The national language in the Netherlands is Dutch. It's a
charming, lilting language punctuated by phlegm-trembling glottal
g's (not in the south) and sch's (also found, for example, in
Arabic). Written Dutch might be semi-intelligible to someone who
knows other germanic languages (English, German, Scandinavian
languages), but the spoken language sounds rather different from
English.

Even though the Netherlands is just a small country, dialects
can still be found everywhere. Dutch people can easily tell where
other people were raised just by their dialect/accent. Dialects are
hardly used in everyday life in most of the country. Near the
borders this is different, especially in Limburg, in the south,
which still cherishes its dialects. The Carnaval period is another
exception, when many cities even get renamed. Although dialects
haven't died out, everyone can still speak standard Dutch
perfectly.

Officially the Netherlands is bilingual, as Frisian is also an
official language. When travelling through Fryslân you will come
across many roadsigns in two languages (similar to Wales). This is
also the case in southern Limburg. Everybody speaks Dutch, but the
Frisians are so protective of the minority language that ordering a
beer in it might just get you the next one free. In areas bordering
Germany, German is widely spoken. However, outside of the eastern
provinces, a good amount of people (especially amongst the younger
generation) can speak basic German too. French will be understood
by some as well, especially the older generations. Immigrant
languages are prominent in urban areas, they include Turkish,
Arabic, Sranan-Tongo (Surinam) and Papiamento (Netherlands Antilles).

The hackneyed phrase "They all speak English there" is in fact
pretty accurate for the Netherlands. Education from an early age in
English and other European languages (mostly German and French)
makes the Dutch some of the most fluent polyglots on the continent.
Oblivious travelers to the major cities should be able to make
their way without learning a word of Dutch. Dealing with seniors,
however - or finding yourself in a family atmosphere - will
probably require learning a bit of the native tongue.

Every two years, the country goes football
crazy as either the European Championship or the World Cup
is held. It's not uncommon for literally fifty percent of the
population to be watching a game if it's a particularly important
one. Often bigger cities will put up large tv screens for the
general public, like on the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam. Likewise,
cafes and bars are another popular place to watch games.

In the Southern Netherlands (North
Brabant, Limburg and to a
smaller extent also in Twente, Overijssel and the south of Gelderland), the Catholic
celebration of Carnival is held since medieval
times. It occurs immediately before Lent; which is usually during
February or March. Parades can be seen almost in any town on
Sunday, sometimes also occurring on Monday. Parades can also be
held in the evening, usually on Saturdays all the wagons are then
lit up by numerous small lights. The other days of the week, many
activities can be found ranging from street painting (stoepkrijten)
to beer drinking contests. The cities of 's-Hertogenbosch, Breda
and Maastricht are advisable for attending Carnival.

Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) is held
every year at April 30th all over the country (except if this day
is a Sunday, then it will be held at the Saturday before). In every
village and town, you will find frollicking Dutch, free markets and
authentic Dutch games. It is advised to wear orange clothes, most
Dutch people walk around in their national colour. An advisable
city to attend at this day is Amsterdam, because it's one of the
largest events of the year there. In several larger cities (most
notably The Hague and Utrecht), the festivities start in the
evening of April 29th.

Pinkpop[30]
is a three-day pop festival every year with Pentecost
("Pinksteren") in Landgraaf, Limburg.

Lowlands[31]
popfestival - every last weekend of August at Biddinghuizen,
Flevoland.

Summercarnaval[32] - A big
parade through the center of Rotterdam. One of the biggest events in The
Netherlands.

Heineken Dance Parade[33] - A big
dance parade through Rotterdam. Much in the spirit of the popular
Love Parade in Germany.

Northsea Jazz Festival[34] - Big summer jazz
festival, held in the Ahoy stadion, Rotterdam since 200. as it moved there from
The Hague. Around 1800 jazz, blues, funk, soul, hip Hop, latin and
r&b acts play during this 3 day event.

Vierdaagsefeesten[35] - Summer festival
in Nijmegen lasting seven days, during the Nijmeegse Vierdaagse.
Usually at the end of July. Over 1 million people attend. During
the festival, there is a section for all the top Dutch bands such
as Moke and Racoon, De Affaire which is focussed on alternative and
rock, The Matrixx which has all your electronic dance music needs,
and of course the numerous terraces and bars.

Sensation[36] - Famous dance party, with
genres such as trance, house and hardstyle. Begin July in
Amsterdam.

Dance Valley[37] - The largest dance
festival, with over 40,000 visitors. Annually mid July in park
Spaarnwoude, near Schiphol Airport. The focus is on celebrating
summer, and has circus tents in which every tent is a different
genre in dance music.

Mystery Land[38] - Dance festival with
a flower-power theme. In the last week of August near Schiphol
Airport. Most dance genres are present, including even electro.
Also has activities such as workshops and theatre, which are
usually uncommon with dance festivals.

Defqon.1[39] -
Dance festival focussing on the harder dance styles, such as
hardstyle and hardcore. Residing in Flevoland, usually in mid June,
but in 2009 is held in mid September.

Buy

A lot of shops do not accept banknotes of €100, €200 and €500,
due to concerns about counterfeiting and burglary. Shops usually
open by 9:00 in the morning and they usually close by 5:30 or 6:00
in the evening. Most shops are closed on Sundays, except the first
Sunday of the month. In Amsterdam centrum area is an exception,
since you can see the shops open till 9:00 in the evening and
Sundays from 12:00 to 6:00 PM. The shops can be crowded with people
coming into town from outside the city. In some area's shops are
closed on Monday morning.

Costs

Accommodation and food is on the expensive side. Rail travel,
museums, and attractions are relatively cheap. Retail prices for
clothing, gifts, etc. are similar to most of Western Europe;
consumer electronics are a bit more expensive. Gasoline, tobacco
and alcohol are relatively expensive due to excise taxes.

Shop

The Netherlands is a good place to buy flowers.
Outside florists, you can buy them pre-packaged in most
supermarkets.

Klompen

The Netherlands is famous for its wooden shoes. However,
nowadays almost no one except for farmers in the countryside wear
them. You could travel through The Netherlands for weeks and find
no one using them for footwear. The only place where you'll find
them is in tourist shops. Wearing wooden shoes in public will earn
you quite a few strange looks from the locals.

If you do try them, the famous "wooden shoes" are surprisingly
comfortable, and very useful in any rural setting. Think of them as
all-terrain footwear; easy to put on for a walk in the garden,
field or dirt road. If you live in a rural area at home, consider
taking a pair of these with you if you can. Avoid the kitschy
tourist shops at schiphol and Amsterdam's damrak street, and
instead look for a regular vendor which can usually be found in
towns and villages in rural areas. The northern province of
Friesland has a lot of stores selling wooden shoes, often adorned
with the bright colors of the Frisian flag.

A fancy serve of herring at a restaurant

Pea soup (snert) with bacon

The Netherlands is not known for its cuisine, but hearty Dutch
fare can be quite good if done well. A conventional Dutch meal
consists of meat, potatoes and some type of vegetable on the side.
The Dutch, however, are known for their specialties and delicious
treats:

Raw herring (haring), which is
actually cured in salt. It's available both from ubiquitous herring
stands and fancy restaurants, usually served with chopped onion and
occasionally even plopped into a bun to make broodje
haring. New herrings (Hollandse Nieuwe) is a special
treat available around June.

Pea soup (erwtensoep or
snert), made of green peas and smoked sausage. Can be very
hearty and a meal itself if there are enough potatoes and other
veggies mixed in.

Bitterbal (a round ball of ragout covered in
breadcrumbs and deep-fried), served in bars as snacks with drinks
and usually arrive in groups of at least five or as part of a
bittergarnituur, always with mustard. Be sure to try these, Dutch
people love them.

Bittergarnituur, a plate containing different
warm and cold snacks, like blocks of cheese, slices of sausage,
bitterballen, perhaps something like chicken nuggets or mini spring
rolls, and mustard or chili sauce for dipping.

Borecole mash pot (boerenkool),
mashed potatoes with borecole, often served with a sausage.

Rookworst (literally "smoked sausage"),
available to go from HEMA department store outlets, but also widely
available in supermarkets.

Dutch pancakes (pannenkoeken), which are
either sweet (zoet) or savoury (hartig) in
variety of tastes, like apple, syrup, cheese, bacon etc. Eat them
in pancake houses (pannenkoekenhuizen)

For dessert:

Poffertjes are small slightly risen pancakes
with butter and powdered sugar Eat them in
poffertjeshuizen.

Syrup waffle (Stroopwafel). Two thin
layers with syrup in between. Available packaged from any
supermarket or made fresh on most street markets and specialized
stalls.

Limburgse vlaai (predominantly in the Southern
Netherlands), dozens of kinds of cold sweet pie, usually with a
fruit topping.

Liquorice (drop) is something you
love or hate, you can buy all kinds of varieties. You can get it
from sweet to extremely salty (double salt) and in a hard or soft
bite.

Other "typically Dutch" foodstuffs are:

Chocolate sprinkles (Hagelslag),
sprinkled on top of buttered slices of bread (much like jam).

Chocolate spread on bread (like Nutella).

Unadorned chocolate bars (Pure
chocolade).

Dutch peanut butter on bread, which is
considerably different from e.g. US peanut butter. Dutch peanut
butter is also the basis for Dutch Indonesian or 'Indo' saté
(satay) sauce which also contains lots of Asian herbs and
spices.

A bread roll with butter and a slice of cheese for lunch,
rather than more elaborate lunches,

Dutch coffee (dark, high caffeine grounds,
traditionally brewed),

Some of these "typically Dutch" foodstuffs taste significantly
different from, but do not necessarily improve upon, specialties
from other countries. For example, while Dutch coffee and chocolate
can instill feelings of homesickness in expats and might be seen as
"soul food", fine Belgian chocolate and Italian coffees (espresso,
etc.) are considered to be delicacies.

Restaurants

As Dutch people usually eat Dutch food at home, most restaurants
specialize in something other than local fare. Every medium-sized
town has its own Chinese/Indonesian restaurant,
often abbreviated as Chin./Ind. restaurant, where you can eat a
combination of Chinese and Indonesian dishes. Usually you get a lot
of food for a small amount of money. Do not expect authentic
Chinese or Indonesian cuisine though, the taste has been adapted
for Dutch citizens. These restaurants have been influenced by the
Dutch East Indies (currently Indonesia) from when they were a
colony of the Netherlands. Typical dishes are fried rice
(Indonesian: nasi goreng), fried bakmi (bami
goreng) and prawn crackers (kroepoek). A suggestion
is the famous Dutch-Indonesian rice table (rijsttafel),
which is a combination of several small dishes from the East
Indies, not unlike the nasi padang of Indonesia. Most of
them have a sit-in area and a separate counter for take-away with
lower prices.

Besides Chinese/Indonesian, the bigger cities offer a good
choice of restaurants with Middle Eastern cuisine
for a bargain price (such as the Nieuwmarkt in Amsterdam). Popular
dishes are shawarma (shoarma), lahmacun (often called
Turkish pizza) and falafel. The Argentinian, French,
Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Spanish, Surinam and Thai cuisines are
also well-represented in the Netherlands.

Modern Dutch restaurants serve good quality food and are
relatively expensive compared with surrounding countries. Most of
the time, profit is made from the drinks and the desert, so be
careful ordering those if you are on a budget. In the Netherlands,
going to a restaurant is generally not seen as a quick way to eat
food, but as a special night out with friends or family, which can
take a couple of hours. Service fees and taxes are included in the
menu prices. Tipping is not mandatory, but rounding up is pretty
much expected and polite. Keep 10 percent in mind if you want to
give a tip.

Since 1 July 2008, smoking has been banned in all restaurants,
cafes, bars, festival tents and nightclubs. Smoking is allowed only
in separate, enclosed, designated smoking areas in which employees
are not allowed to serve. Staff may only enter such smoking rooms
in emergency situations.

Fast food vending machines at Febo

A mashed potato and mushroom kroket

In town centers, near public transportation areas or even in
more quiet quarters you can find a snackbar,
sometimes known as frituur or cafeteria. These
snackbars are pretty much the antithesis of high cuisine, but their
snacks are considered typical for the country, and many Dutch
expats miss them the most when going abroad. The popular Febo [40] chain's outlets are
basically giant vending machines, just slot in a euro or two and
take out the snack of your choice.

The most popular snack is French fries, known as patat
in most of the country and as friet in the Southern
Netherlands. The "standard" way is to order them with
mayonnaise (patat met), although the local mayo is not the
same as you'd get in France or most of the rest of the world: it is
firmer, sweeter and contains less fat, whilst remaining just as
unhealthy. Other sauces are tomato ketchup, curry ketchup (unlike
regular curry, tastes more like ketchup), peanut sauce
(satésaus), cut raw onions (uitjes), special
(speciaal, a combination of mayonnaise, curry ketchup and
optionally cut raw onions) and war (oorlog, a combination
of mayonnaise, peanut sauce and optionally with cut raw onions).
The following fried snacks are considered typical for the country
as well:

Croquette ('kroket'), a crispy roll filled
with ragout. Can be ordered on bread as well.

Frikandel, a long, skinless and dark-colored
sausage, kind of like a minced-meat hot dog. Can be ordered on
bread, or as speciaal (with mayonnaise, curry ketchup and
cut raw onions).

Kaassoufflé, cheese snack popular with
vegetarians, can also be served on bread.

Bear's claw (berenklauw), often
called bear's snack (berenhap) or
bear's dick (berenlul), is a sliced
meatball with fried onion rings on a wooden skewer, often served
with peanut sauce (pindasaus).

Vegetarianism

Vegetarians should not have any major trouble. 4.5 percent of
the Dutch population is vegetarian and most restaurants have at
least one vegetarian option on their menus or can make you one if
you ask for it. Most supermarkets sell vegetarian products or even
have a part of their supermarket dedicated to vegetarian products.
It is advisable to specifically mention what you do and do not eat
(meat, fish, dairy, eggs) as not everyone has the same definition
of vegetarianism. Finding a vegetarian option in a fast food
restaurant might provide more of a challenge. Chip shops that sell
veggie burgers are the exception rather than the rule.

Drink

The Netherlands has two drinking ages: 16 years for alcohol
under 15% (beer, wine, etc), and 18 for all other drinks.

Wieckse Witte, a popular wheat beer (witbier)

Although the Dutch beer "Heineken" is one of
the world's most famous beers, it is just one of the many beer
brands in the Netherlands. You can get all kinds of beers from
white beer to dark beer. Popular brands are Heineken, Grolsch,
Brand, Bavaria, Amstel etc.

In addition to the usual lagers, try Dutch wheat
beers (witbier), which are flavored with a spice
mix called gruit and thus taste different from the
better-known German varieties. Fruit-flavored varieties are also
available.

Traditional beers come from monasteries in the South of the
Netherlands (Brabant and Limburg) or Belgium. You can visit a
traditional beer brewer in for instance Berkel-Enschot (just east
of Tilburg) at the 'Trappistenklooster'. It needs to be said that
the brewery is now owned by the big brewer Bavaria, so it's not so
traditional any more.

Most breweries have nowadays also produce a non-alcoholic
variant of their beers, like Bavaria Malt or Amstel Malt. Which
consist sometimes 0% or less than 0,5 alcohol and is very suitable
for people who would like to drive and don't drink (or sometimes
called "de Bob" as promoted in its campaign).

Bitters and gin

Also popular in winter are alcoholic bitters.
Originally from the province of Friesland the bitter called
Beerenburg is served in the entire country. Most other regions also
produce their local, less famous variants of a bitter.

Orange bitter (Oranjebitter), this
bitter liquor is drunk only on Queen's Day (Koninginnedag)

Dutch gin (jenever or
genever), the predecessor of English gin. It's available
in two types, called oude (old) and jonge
(young), which have nothing to do with aging, just the distillation
style. The more traditional "old-fashioned" oude is
sweeter and yellowish in color, while jonge is clearer,
drier and more akin to English gin.

Tea and coffee

Dutch drink black tea, and it comes in many
different tastes, from traditional to fruit infusions etc. Luckily,
if you're English, you get the teabag served with a cup of hot (but
never boiling!) water, so you can make your own version. Milk in
your tea is almost unheard of and only given to children.

Coffee is almost compulsory when you are going to visit people.
One of the first questions when coming through the door is often
"Koffie?" and it is served in small cups (a half mug) with
cookies.

If you're from the States or Canada, you can drink one cup of
Dutch coffee in the morning and add water the rest
of the day! If you order 'koffie verkeerd' (which means "coffee the
wrong way 'round") you get a cup of mostly hot milk with a small
splash of coffee -- more like the French 'café au lait' or the
Italian 'latte'.

Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate with whipped cream is a winter
tradition in the Netherlands. It really fills you after a cold
walk. In the summer you can also get it in every decent bar,
however sometimes it's made from powder as opposed to the
traditional kind, and doesn't taste that good.

Smoke

The Netherlands are renowned for their liberal drug
policy. While technically still illegal, mostly
to comply to international treaties, personal use
of (soft) drugs are regulated by the Ministry of Justice under an
official policy of gedogen; literally this means to
accept or tolerate, legally it is a doctrine of
non-prosecution on the basis that action taken would be so highly
irregular as to constitute selective prosecution.

You are allowed to buy and smoke small doses (under 5 grams) of
cannabis or hash. You must be 18 or older to buy. For this you have
to visit a coffeeshop, which are are abundant in
most larger towns. Coffeeshops are not allowed to sell alcohol.
Minors (under 18) are not allowed inside. Coffeeshops are
prohibited from explicit advertising, so many use the Rastafari
red-yellow-green colors to hint at the products available inside,
while others are more discreet and sometimes almost hidden away
from plain view. In the border province of Limburg, it will only be possible
to buy cannabis products in a coffeeshop if you've got a
wietpas ("weed pass") from 2010. This measure will be
introduced in an effort to combat drug related crime and
nuisance.

Beware that cannabis sold in the Netherlands is generally
much stronger than varieties outside, so be
careful when you take your first spliff. Be particularly wary of
cannabis-laced pastries ("space cakes") as it's easy to eat too
much by accident — although there are also unscrupulous shops that
sell space cakes with no weed at all. Wait at least one
hour after eating!

Hallucinogenic ("magic") mushrooms, once legal, are banned as of
December 1st, 2008.

It is forbidden to drive any motorized vehicle while impaired,
which includes driving under the influence of both illegal and
legal recreational or prescribed drugs (such as cocaine, ecstasy,
cannabis and mushrooms) as well as alcohol, and medication that
might affect your ability to drive.

Buying soft drugs from dealers in the streets is always illegal
and is commonly discouraged. The purchase of other (hard) drugs,
eg. ecstasy, cocaine, or processed/dried mushrooms, is still dealt
with by the law. However, often people who are caught in possession
of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use are not
prosecuted.

The act of consuming any form of drugs is legal, even if
possession is not. If you are seen taking drugs, you may
theoretically be arrested for possession, but not for use. This has
one important effect; do not hesitate to seek medical help if you
are suffering from bad effects of drug use, and inform emergency
services as soon as possible of the specific (illegal) drugs you
have taken. Medical services are unconcerned with where you got the
drugs, they will not contact the police, their sole intention is to
take care of you in the best way possible.

At some parties, a "drug testing desk" is offered, where you can
have your (synthetic) drugs tested. This is mainly because many
pills contain harmful chemicals in addition to the claimed
ingredients; for example, many pills of "ecstasy" (MDMA) will also
contain speed (amphetamines). Some pills don't even contain any
MDMA at all. The testing desks are not meant to encourage drug use,
since venue owners face stiff fines for allowing drugs in their
venues, but they are tolerated or 'gedoogd' since they mitigate the
public health risks. Note: the desk won't return the drugs
tested.

Please note that there are significant risks associated with
drug use, even in The Netherlands' liberal climate

while marijuana bought at coffeeshops is unlikely to be
hazardous, hard drugs like cocaine and heroin and synthetic drugs
like ecstasy are still illegal and unregulated. These hard drugs
are likely to be in some way contaminated, especially when bought
from street dealers.

some countries have legislation in place that make it illegal
to plan a trip for the purpose of commiting illegal acts in another
jurisdiction, so you might be apprehended in your home country
after having legally smoked pot in The Netherlands.

Sleep

A wide range of accommodation is available, concentrated on the
major tourist destinations. They include regions popular for
internal tourism, such as the Veluwe. In non-touristed areas, accommodation
may be very limited.

Since all countries use different rating systems it might be
convenient to check the Dutch Hotel star rating system in English
here: [41]

Official Dutch Youth Hostels are called since they changed their
name in 2003. "Stay Okay". They are not as widespread as in Great
Britain. Also there is no kitchen available for guests, so either
you eat what's on menu or you eat out. Stay Okay [42], Besides the Official Dutch
Youth Hostels there are plenty other hostels spread around Holland.
Popular are The Flying Pig Hostels in Noordwijk and Amsterdam, they
provide a kitchen for one's own use and they have a liberal smoking
policy. Flying Pig [43]

Short-term apartment rental is available in cities, but may not
be legal. While most have a 3 night minimum stay, the process of
making reservations and checking in is generally identical to that
of staying in a hotel, the notable exception being that most
require a credit card deposit, and the balance payment in € on
arrival.

Vacation rental homes are popular in The Netherlands, and many
Dutch city dwellers own a home in the country side (even though
that country side is often only an hour or less from big cities).
Traversia has the largest collection of vacation rentals in The
Netherlands, by Dutch owners.

If you are traveling by bicycle or by foot, there is a list of
3600 addresses where you can stay at private homes with bed and
breakfast for no more than € 18,50 per person per night, although
you must also pay € 9 for membership of this scheme. It is called
frankloop!...Vrienden op de fiets [44].

Learn

The Netherlands has many universities. The country has recently
converted their own titles into the bachelor/master system. There
are two types of universities:

The Times Higher Education Supplement ranks 11 universities
among the top 200 in the world.

English speaking students will have no problems finding suitable
courses. A total of 1,456 courses are taught entirely in English.
There is also the added advantage that most locals under the age of
30 are reasonably able in English.

For international students, several scholarships are available.
They can be found on the Nuffic website [45]. Here
you will also find information regarding courses, institutions,
housing, formalities, culture, traineeships and possible
difficulties.

Work

Work opportunites for those from outside the European Union are
very restricted. Only when an employer can prove they've searched
in the EU, they are allowed to hire a non-EU citizen. Official
policy is to deter all non-EU immigration, unless there is an
economic necessity.

Students from other European countries are only eligible for
study financing when they have a fixed 32 hour/month work contract,
or when they have lived in the Netherlands for five years.

Since 2005, the Dutch law enables what they call “knowledge
immigration” the idea is to allow local companies to “import”
foreign employees to work in the Netherlands. The process is
straightforward and takes between 4 to 10 weeks.

Stay safe

The Netherlands is generally considered a safe country. However,
be alert in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and other large cities
that are plagued by pickpockets and bicycle theft. In the larger
cities, certain areas are unsafe at night. A small number are also
unsafe in daylight.

Police, ambulance and fire brigade have one general emergency
number 112. There is one police force, organised
in 25 police regions. Mostly visitors will deal with the regional
police. Some specialised forces, such as the railway police and the
highway police on main roads, are run by a separate national force
(highway police being the KLPD - Korps Landelijke Politie
Diensten, and railway police being the
spoorwegpolitie). When calling 112, if
you can, advise on what emergency services you are in need of.

Border controls, and port and airport security, are handled by
a separate police force, the Marechaussee (or abreviation 'KMar' -
Koninklijke Marechaussee), a gendarmerie. They are an
independent service of the Dutch armed forces (making them a
military service, not a civil one), and have among their duties the
mentioned security tasks.

In most cities, there are municipal services
(stadswacht, Toezichthouder Openbare Ruimte
(abreviation: TOR) or stadstoezicht) with some police
tasks, e.g., issuing parking and litter fines. They often have
police-style uniforms to confer some authority, but their powers
are limited. For instance, only the police carry a gun.

Stay healthy

The Netherlands has some of the best 'tap water' in the world.
It is considered to be of similar quality as natural mineral or
spring water and is distributed to every household and controlled
by 'water authorities'. Food (either bought in a supermarket or
eaten at a restaurant) shouldn't pose any problem either. The
health care system is up to par with the rest of Europe and most
cities have hospitals where usually most of the staff speaks
English. Otherwise, it's a case of common sense (i.e. washing hands
before eating is always advisable).

In summer, open air recreational (mainly fresh water) swimming
areas might suffer from the notorious blue algae, a rather smelly
cyanobacteria which when it dies, releases toxins into the water.
When these occur, a signpost at the entrance to the area or near
the water should tell you so by stating something like
"waarschuwing: blauwalg". If in doubt, ask someone.

When walking or camping in forests and dunes be aware of ticks
and tick-carrying diseases such as Lyme disease. It is advisable to
wear long sleeves and to put trousers into your socks.

Respect

The Dutch are among the most informal and easy-going people in
Europe, and there are not many strict social taboos to speak of. It
is unlikely that Dutch people will be offended simply by your
behaviour or appearance. In fact it is more likely that visitors
themselves will be offended by overly direct conversation.
Nevertheless, the standards for overt rudeness and
hostility are similar to those in other western European countries.
If you feel you are deliberately being treated offensively, then
you probably are.

The exception to this openness is personal wealth. It is
considered vulgar to for instance reveal the height of your salary,
so asking somebody about this will be considered nosy and will
probably just get you an evasive answer. Likewise, it's not
advisable to be forceful about your own religion or to assume a
Dutch person you've met is a Catholic or a Calvinist, since
followers of traditional Christian religions only make up about 40%
of the Dutch population. In urban area's it is not considered rude
to ask somebody about this, but you'll generally be expected to be
entirely tolerant of whatever the other person believes and not
attempt to proselytize in any way. An exception is the Dutch
biblebelt which runs from Zealand into South-Holland, Utrecht and
Gelderland and consists of towns and counties with many strong
Orthodox-Christians believers, who are more likely to be insulted
by different religious views. Openly Nationalist sentiments are
likewise viewed with some suspicion among the general public,
though there are a number of nationalistic celebrations like
queen's day (koninginnedag) and during the Soccer season.

Gay and lesbian travelers

As mentioned above, the Netherlands is quite liberal when it
comes to homosexuality and by far is considered to
be one of the gay-friendliest countries in the
world. The Netherlands has a reputation of being the first
country to recognize same-sex marriage, and openly displaying your
orientation wouldn't cause much upset in the Netherlands. However,
even a gay friendly country like the Netherlands has room for some
criticisms of homosexuality, but this varies depending on where one
travels. Regardless, with violence and discrimination against gays
being rare as well as the legal status of same-sex marriage in the
Netherlands, this country may be considered a gay
utopia and should be safe for gays and lesbians, except in
Muslim neighbourhoods in the major Dutch cities.

Contact

The international calling code for the Netherlands is
31. The outbound international prefix is
00, so to call the US, substitute
001 for +1 and for the UK
00 44 for +44.

The cellular phone network in the Netherlands is GSM 900/1800.
The cell phone networks are operated by KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile;
other operators use one of these 3 networks. The networks are high
quality and cover every corner of the Netherlands. With the
exception of some low-end service providers, all mobile operators
support GPRS. KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile offer UMTS (and HSDPA)
service in some parts of Holland.

There are few public phone booths left in the Netherlands. They
are mostly found at train stations. Telfort booths accept coins,
whereas most KPN booths only accept prepaidcards or creditcard.
Some new public phones have been installed which accept coins
again. Be aware of public phones in a more public area as well as
the same types in a more public-private area, where tarrifs (per
unit or amount of calling time) can differ.

(National) Directory Inquiries can be reached -since 2007- on
1888, 1850 and various other
'Inquiry-operators'. Rates differ by operator, but are usually
rather high, more than €1 per call, as well as per-second
charges.

International Directory Inquiries can be reached on 0900 8418
(Mon-Fri 8AM-8PM, €0.90 per minute).

Phone numbers can also be found on the Internet, free of charge,
on De Telefoongids.nl [46] or Nationale
Telefoongids.nl [47].

0800 numbers are toll-free and for 09xx numbers are charged at
premium rates. Mobile phones have numbers in the 06 range, and
calls to cell phones are also priced at higher rates.

If you're bringing your own (GSM) cell phone, using your
existing plan to call (or receive calls) whilst in The Netherlands
can be very expensive due to "roaming" charges. Receiving phone
calls on a cell phone using a Dutch SIM card is free in most cases;
charges apply if you're using a foreign SIM card, as the call is
theoretically routed through your country of origin. It's cheaper
to buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card to insert into your GSM phone, or
even to buy a very cheap pay-as-you-go card+phone bundle. For
example: lyca [48], lebara [49] and ortel [50] are providers that
specialize in cheap rates to foreign countries. [51] targets those traveling
through multiple countries.

To enjoy cheap international calls from the
Netherlands you can use low-cost dial-around services such as Qazza
[52], BelBazaar [53], pennyphone [54], SlimCall [55], telegoedkoop [56], beldewereld [57], teleknaller [58]or Wereldwijdbellen [59]. Dial-around
services are directly available from any landline in the
Netherlands. No contract, no registration is required. Most
dial-around services offer USA, Canada, Western Europe and many
other countries at the price of a local call so you can save on
your phone expenses easily. They also work from public
payphones.

Internet cafés can be found in most cities, usually they also
provide international calling booths. Many public libraries provide
Internet access. Wireless Internet access using Wi-Fi is becoming
increasingly popular and is available in many hotels, pubs,
stations and on Schiphol, either for free, or at extortionate
prices through one of the national "networks" of hotspots.

This article is an outline and needs more
content. It has a template, but there is not enough information
present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!

.The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations the country is a member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto protocol.^Under the Moors, Spain became more civilized than most other European countries.” (Walter C. Langsam.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

.Along with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands is also one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union.^On the initiative of the Netherlands and Belgium, the Third Committee of the United Nations has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on UN member states to intensify efforts to combat all forms of violence against women and punish the perpetrators.

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^In words of Wilders, — “I’ve had enough of Islam in the Netherlands; let not one more Muslim immigrate,” he wrote in national newspaper De Volkskrant.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^The positive assessment given by the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is an important factor for the Netherlands in considering further steps towards Serbias integration with the European Union, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen has said.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^International organisations and their foreign employees are increasingly satisfied with the Netherlands as a host country, according to a study by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

All of these courts, as well as the EU's criminal intelligence agency (Europol) are situated in The Hague, which has led to the city being referred to as "the world's legal capital."[1]

Naming Conventions

Main article: Netherlands (terminology)

See also: Names for the Dutch language

Various terms have been used in English to refer to the Netherlands and its inhabitants.

(The) Netherlands is the official name of the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. .The term Holland is commonly used as a synonym for the Netherlands as a whole, but it actually only refers to a region in the west of the country, which has long been the most economically powerful part of the country.^The Netherlands does not have a common law system, and judges have far less power than in Anglo-Saxon countries.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

The Dutch themselves seldom use the term "Holland" to refer to their country. They usually call their country "Nederland", which is singular. .The plural "de Nederlanden" in Dutch (the Netherlands) is never used to refer to the present country located in Western Europe, but is used exclusively either to refer to the historical "Low Countries" or as part of the rather formal expression "Koninkrijk der Nederlanden" (Kingdom of the Netherlands), which includes the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba.^Unfortunately, much of Western Europe is in the same boat as the Dutch.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

^Dutch Ambassador Frank Majoor signed today, on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^Foreign minister Maxime Verhagen signed, on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, an international convention on cluster munitions, which bans their production, stockpiling and use.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

The country's people and language are called Dutch. .The word Netherlands is sometimes used as an adjective in place of Dutch (e.g.^Both Russian and Dutch words can be studied using this handy application.

the Royal Netherlands Army). .Netherlandic and Netherlandish are also sometimes used, though they refer more frequently to the Low Countries.^At first, they supported the revolution, for they had been a republic before, and seized the moment to try and institute a more democratic system in the netherlands, backed by the french.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Netherlands

See also: Flood control in the Netherlands and Floods in the Netherlands

A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is its flatness. Hilly landscapes can be found only in the south-eastern tip of the country, the central part and where the glaciers pushed up several hilly ridges such as the Hondsrug in Drenthe, the stuwwallen near Arnhem and Nijmegen, Salland, Twente and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug.

Floods

In years past, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss are the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the south west, and the 1287 storm, which killed 50,000 people and created the Zuiderzee (now dammed in and renamed the IJsselmeer — see below) in the northwest, giving Amsterdam direct access to the sea. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72 square kilometres (28 sq mi) Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the south-centre. The most recent parts of Zeeland were flooded during the North Sea Flood of 1953 when 1,836 people were killed, after which the Delta Plan was executed.

Map of the Netherlands

Satellite image of the Netherlands (ca. May 2000)

The disasters were partially man-made; people drained relatively high lying swampland for use as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, locking the land users in a vicious circle whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The problem remains unsolvable to this day. Also, up until the 19th century peat was dug up, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem.

To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later, these terps were connected by dykes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "water bodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (The water bodies are still exist today, performing the same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dykes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century, windmills had come into use in order to pump water out of the areas below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dyke") was completed, blocking the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) off from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 1,650 square kilometres (637square miles) were reclaimed from the sea.

Delta works

After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 2002. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in the province of Zeeland to once per 10,000 years. (For the rest of the country, the protection-level is once per 4,000 years.) This was achieved by raising 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles) of outer sea-dykes and 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) of inner, canal, and river dikes to "delta" height, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally show problems requiring additional Delta project dyke reinforcements. The Delta project is one of the largest construction efforts in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

.Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climatic change.^Climate change costs developing countries 60-80 billion per year .

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^One of the ways in which the Netherlands combats poverty in developing countries is by increasing opportunities for trade.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^Financing for climate change in developing countries is high on the agenda of the Joint High-Level Meeting of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the Environmental Policy Committee (EPOC) that will be held in Paris on 28 and 29 May.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow.[2][3][4]

Rivers

.The country is divided into two main parts by three rivers Rhine (Rijn), Waal, and Meuse (Maas).^Includes grammar rules divided into 3 sections - Parts of Speech, Verbs and Sentence.

These rivers not only function as a natural barrier, but traditionally also as a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognizable north and south of these "Large Rivers" (de Grote Rivieren). In addition to this, there was, until quite recently, a clear religious dominance of Catholics in the south and of Calvinists in the north.

The south-western part of the Netherlands is actually one river delta of these rivers and two arms of the Scheldt (Westerschelde & Oosterschelde). The one and only important branch of the Rhine flowing northeastward is formed by the IJssel river, which flows out into the IJsselmeer, the former so called Zuiderzee ('Southern sea'). This river also happens to form a linguistic divide. People to the right of this river speak Low Saxon dialects, except for the province of Friesland. [5]

Climate

The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is south-west, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. The average tempurature is 5'C in autumn

^Following the conversion of the Netherlands to Calvinism (while most of modern Belgium remained Roman Catholic) and repression by the Hapsburg monarchy, the Dutch declared independence from Spain in 1581.

1568 saw the start of the Eighty Years' War between the provinces and Spain. In 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces formed the Union of Utrecht, a treaty in which they promised to support each other in their defense against the Spanish army. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. In 1581 the northern provinces adopted the Oath of Abjuration, the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II. Philip II the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go easily and war continued until 1648 when Spain under King Philip IV finally recognized Dutch independence in the Treaty of Münster.

Dutch Republic 1581-1795

Since their independence from Philip II in 1581 the provinces formed the Dutch Republic. The republic was a confederation of the provinces Holland, Zeeland, Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel and Gelre. All these provinces were autonomous and had their own governments, the "States of the Province". The States-General, the confederal government, were seated in The Hague and consisted of representatives of each of the seven provinces. .The very thinly populated region of Drenthe, mainly consisting of poor peatland, was part of the Republic too, although Drenthe was not considered one of the provinces.^Number ones: refers to the very first stamp issued by an entity; the Number One Number One is considered the Penny Black of 1840 of Great Britain.

Drenthe had its own States but the landdrost of Drenthe was appointed by the States-General.

.The Republic occupied a number of so-called Generality Lands (Generaliteitslanden in Dutch).^In his address to the General Assembly Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende called on colleague world leaders to help achieve stability, solidarity and sustainability.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

.These territories were governed directly by the States-General, so they did not have a government of their own and they did not have representatives in the States-General.^He said that these social and economic rights are also human rights, and that the governments responsible must ensure that they are not violated.

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Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Most of these territories were occupied during the Eighty Years' War. .They were mainly roman-catholic and they were used as a buffer zone between the Republic and the Southern Netherlands.^Following the conversion of the Netherlands to Calvinism (while most of modern Belgium remained Roman Catholic) and repression by the Hapsburg monarchy, the Dutch declared independence from Spain in 1581.

^At first, they supported the revolution, for they had been a republic before, and seized the moment to try and institute a more democratic system in the netherlands, backed by the french.

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.The Dutch grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century during the period of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.^Since the founding of the United Nations in 1946, the Netherlands has had 16 Permanent Representatives in New York (current Ambassador Majoor is the 17th).

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^An innovative mobile laboratory developed by the Netherlands to support United Nations Environmental Emergency Response was officially inaugurated by the Dutch Ministers of Environment and Development Cooperation in The Hague.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

.Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world.^The Netherlands is to sign a cooperation agreement with the World Bank and the British Department for International Development (DFID) aimed at tackling corruption and promoting good governance in developing countries.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as such less benign phenomena as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636–1637, and according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider - Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount.[6].The republic went into a state of general decline in the later 18th century, with economic competition from England and long standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society, the Staatsgezinden (Republicans) and the Prinsgezinden (Royalists or Orangists) as main factors.^The Newcomers Integration Act went into effect in 1998, whereby new immigrants are required to learn the Dutch language and culture sufficiently to enable them to work.

^At the end of a two-day visit to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, development minister Bert Koenders said that economic cooperation between Rwanda and the DR Congo could be a major stepping stone towards peace in eastern Congo.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Batavian Republic 1795-1806

On January 19, 1795, a day after stadtholderWilliam V of Orange fled to England, the Batavian Republic (Bataafse Republiek in Dutch) was proclaimed. The proclamation of the Batavian Republic introduced the concept of the unitary state in the Netherlands. .From 1795 to 1806, the Batavian Republic designated the Netherlands as a republic modelled after the French Republic.^At first, they supported the revolution, for they had been a republic before, and seized the moment to try and institute a more democratic system in the netherlands, backed by the french.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country. The kingdom of Holland covered the area of present day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg, and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory. In 1807 Prussian East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom. In 1809 however, after an English invasion, Holland had to give over all territories south of the river Rhine to France.

.King Louis Napoleon did not meet Napoleon's expectations - he tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's - and the King had to abdicate on July 1, 1810. He was succeeded by his five year old son Napoleon Louis Bonaparte.^The Dutch Consortium for Uruzgan, a platform of five Dutch aid agencies, plans to extend its programme in Uruzgan over the next four years.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Napoleon Louis reigned as Louis II for just ten days as Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte ignored his young nephew’s accession to the throne. The Emperor sent in an army to invade the country and dissolved the Kingdom of Holland. The Netherlands then became part of the French Empire.

Part of the French Empire 1810-1813

From 1810 to 1813, when Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in the battle of Leipzig, the Netherlands were part of the French Empire.

The Netherlands (principality) 1813-1815

In 1795 the last stadtholder William V of Orange fled to England. His son returned to the Netherlands in 1813 to become William I of the Netherlands, Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands. On March 16, 1815 the Sovereign Prince became King of the Netherlands.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^On the initiative of the Netherlands and Belgium, the Third Committee of the United Nations has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on UN member states to intensify efforts to combat all forms of violence against women and punish the perpetrators.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^The Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy and Norway have announced a joint action programme to fight the illegal trafficking of arms and munitions into Gaza.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Colonies

The largest Dutch settlement abroad was the Cape Colony. .It was established by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company at Capetown in 1652. The Prince of Orange acquiesced to British occupation and control of the Cape Colony in 1788. The Netherlands also possessed several other colonies, but Dutch settlement in these lands was limited.^Netherlands Indies: former Dutch colonial possessions in the East Indies; currency: 100 cents = 1 gulden, 100 sen = 1 rupiah (1949) 1786: Steam packets traveled between Amsterdam and Batavia via the Cape, 1811: handstamps known during British period, 1845: first postage due stamp issued, 1864, Apr.

^But the economy stagnated from the end of the seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, as the English challenged and took over some Dutch trades and colonies, notably the slave trade and North American colonies.

These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. .Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively).^The Dutch government has decided to prolong its participation in EU anti-piracy operation Atalanta off the coast of Somalia.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

.Only then did they become official colonies.^It will become obvious when they've driven themselves to extinction and that only remaining American't lefties find they're a homosexual couple incapable of reproduction.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

Industrialization

.During the 19th century, the Netherlands was slow to industrialise compared to neighbouring countries, mainly due to the great complexity involved in the modernizing of the infrastructure consisting largely of waterways and the great reliance its industry had on windpower.^During a meeting at the Netherlands Foreign Ministry today, invitations for the international conference on Afghanistan have been transmitted to representatives of international organisations and the ambassadors of the countries invited.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

World War II

The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I and intended to do so in World War II. However, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940 in the Western European campaign of the Second World War. The country was quickly overrun and the army main force surrendered on May 14 after the bombing of Rotterdam, although a Dutch and French allied force held the province of Zeeland for a short time after the Dutch surrender. .The Kingdom as such continued the war from the colonial empire; the government in exile resided in London.^War with Spain continued until 1648, at which point the Netherlands left the Holy Roman Empire.

.During the occupation over 100,000 Dutch Jews were rounded up to be transported to Nazi concentration camps in Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia where they were murdered in the Holocaust.^The Dutch government has reserved 500,000 to buy and transport tents for victims of the earthquake in China.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^The Moluccan community, who were political refugees, were discouraged from working and were segregated in former Nazi concentration camps.

Dutch workers were conscripted for labour in German factories, civilians were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food for German soldiers in the Netherlands and for shipment to Germany. .Although there are many stories of Dutch people risking their lives by hiding Jews from the Germans, like in the diary of Anne Frank, there were also Dutch people who collaborated with Nazi occupiers in hunting down and arresting hiding Jews, and some joined the Waffen-SS to form the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands, fighting on the Eastern Front.^Whereas Christian lords often hunted jews and pagans in their midst, in Moorish spain both Jews and Christians were allowed to live where they lived and how they lived.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

^Dutch Ambassador Frank Majoor signed today, on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

After a first liberation attempt by the Allied 21st Army Group stalled, much of the northern Netherlands was subject to the Dutch famine of 1944, caused by the disrupted transportation system, caused by German destruction of dikes to slow allied advances, and German confiscation of much food and livestock made the "Hunger Winter" of 1944-1945 one in which malnutrition and starvation were rife among the Dutch population. German forces held out until the surrender of May 5, 1945, in Wageningen at Hotel De Wereld.

After the war

After the war, the Dutch economy prospered by leaving behind an era of neutrality and gaining closer ties with neighbouring states. The Netherlands became a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) cooperation. .Furthermore, the Netherlands was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union.^The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is to do more to promote nuclear disarmament.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^At the Netherlands initiative, the European Union has proposed an alternative final declaration for the UN Durban Review Conference.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Government

.The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848; before that it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806 and a kingdom between 1806 and 1810 (it was part of France between 1810 and 1813).^Following the conversion of the Netherlands to Calvinism (while most of modern Belgium remained Roman Catholic) and repression by the Hapsburg monarchy, the Dutch declared independence from Spain in 1581.

The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterized by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole. .In 2007, The Economist ranked The Netherlands as the third most democratic country in the world.^The Netherlands is to sign a cooperation agreement with the World Bank and the British Department for International Development (DFID) aimed at tackling corruption and promoting good governance in developing countries.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

The head of state is the monarch, at present Queen Beatrix. Constitutionally the monarch still has considerable powers, but in practice it has become a ceremonial function. The monarch can exert most influence during the formation of a new cabinet, where he/she serves as neutral arbiter between the political parties.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^Today, development minister Bert Koenders talked at length with Helen Clark, who has headed UNDP, the largest UN development agency, since this spring.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^In his address to the General Assembly Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende called on colleague world leaders to help achieve stability, solidarity and sustainability.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

.In practice the Prime Minister has been the leader of the largest coalition party since 1973. He is a primus inter pares, meaning he has no explicit powers that go beyond those of the other ministers.^Today, development minister Bert Koenders talked at length with Helen Clark, who has headed UNDP, the largest UN development agency, since this spring.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^In his address to the General Assembly Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende called on colleague world leaders to help achieve stability, solidarity and sustainability.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

The provincial assemblies are directly elected every four years as well. .The members of the provincial assemblies elect the 75 members of the First Chamber, the Upper House, which has less legislative powers, as it can merely reject laws, not propose or amend them.^Professor of international law at Leiden, Nico Schrijver, was elected by acclamation by ECOSOC today as a member of the Committee on Economic, Socal and Cultural Rights.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted beforehand in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. .They meet regularly with government in the Social-Economic Council.^He said that these social and economic rights are also human rights, and that the governments responsible must ensure that they are not violated.

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This body advises government and its advice cannot be put aside easily.

.While historically the Dutch foreign policy was characterized by neutrality, since the Second World War the Netherlands became a member of a large number of international organisations, most prominently the UN, NATO and the EU.^The resolution, an initiative of the Netherlands and France, calls on all UN member states to combat violence against women.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen told the Dutch House of Representatives yesterday that the Netherlands would seek a role in the monitoring mission the EU intends to send to Georgia to maintain stability in the conflict regions.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^Former British prime minister Tony Blair spoke highly of Dutch climate and energy policy at an international meeting on Friday 8 May, saying that the Netherlands is in the forefront in this area.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^The Dutch government is contributing a political adviser to the team of EU Special Representative for the Southern Caucasus, Peter Semneby.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

These cooperated in coalition cabinets in which the Christian democrats had always been partner: so either a centre left coalition of the Christian democrats and social democrats or a centre right coalition of Christian democrats and liberals. .In the 1970s the party system became more volatile: the Christian democratic parties lost seats, while new parties, like the radical democrat and progressiveliberalD66, became successful.^I think it's funny when liberals defend Radical Islam and trash Christianity (Rosie O'Donnell) .

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^At first, they supported the revolution, for they had been a republic before, and seized the moment to try and institute a more democratic system in the netherlands, backed by the french.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

In the 1994 election the CDA lost its dominant position. A "purple" cabinet was formed by the VVD, D66 and PvdA. In 2002 elections this cabinet lost its majority, due to the rise of LPF, a new political party around the flamboyant populist Pim Fortuyn, who was shot to death a week before the elections took place. .The elections also saw increased support for the CDA. A short lived cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD and LPF, led by the leader of the Christian democrats, Jan Peter Balkenende.^The Dutch government is taking action to limit the impact of the credit crisis on the Dutch economy, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced after the cabinet meeting on Friday.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende accepted an invitation to the summit during his visit to US President Barrack Obama.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^On behalf of the Dutch government, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has conveyed his best wishes to Senator Barack Obama on the occasion of his election as President of the United States.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

.In June 2006 the cabinet fell, as D66 voted in favour of a motion of no confidence against minister of immigration and integration Rita Verdonk in the aftermath of the upheaval about the asylum procedure of Ayaan Hirsi Ali instigated by the Dutch immigration minister Verdonk.^Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen has summoned the Iranian charg daffaires ad interim in the Netherlands to convey the Dutch governments serious concerns about the handling of the elections and the excessive force used against demonstrators.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^The Dutch government is taking action to limit the impact of the credit crisis on the Dutch economy, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced after the cabinet meeting on Friday.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^Dutch Defence minister Eimert van Middelkoop will be in Africa from 21 to 27 June.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Administrative divisions

The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris der Koningin (Commissioner of the Queen), except for the province Limburg where the commissioner is called Gouverneur (Governor) which underlines the more "non-Dutch" mentality. All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), 458 in total (1 January2006). The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. .As of 1 January2005 there are 27. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence.^In practice there is still a world of difference between laws and their execution here.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

^While this Nation has its own PC problem with freedom of speech, the current situation in the Netherlands is a national disgrace if the Dutch people actually respected its concepts.

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

Map of the Netherlands, linking to the province pages; the red dots mark the capitals of the provinces and the black dots other notable cities or towns

Military

Main article: Military of the Netherlands

.Conscription in the Netherlands was suspended in 1996. All military specialities, except the Submarine service and Marine Corps, are open to women.^The resolution, an initiative of the Netherlands and France, calls on all UN member states to combat violence against women.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

.The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs 68,000 personnel, including both civilian and military personnel.^Thirty Dutch military personnel and police officers will remain in place, monitoring compliance with the peace agreement between Northern and Southern Sudan.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^And war is even better, because that isn't taking the life of the young, the poor and the involountary drafted on your own side and both military and civilians on the enemy's side?

The American Spectator : Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands9 February 2010 16:47 UTCspectator.org [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

Economy

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy in which the government has reduced its role since the 1980s. Industrial activity is predominantly in food-processing (for example Unilever and Heineken International), chemicals (for example DSM), petroleum refining (for example Royal Dutch Shell), and electrical machinery (for example Philips). Slochteren has one of the largest natural gas fields in the world, which has so far (2006) resulted in a total revenue of €159 billion since the mid 1970s. N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie still is the largest public-private partnershipP3 world-wide following the global energy-transition of 1963[8] from coal to gas, coupling oil and gas prices. With just over half of the reserves used up and an expected continued rise in oil prices, the revenues over the next few decades are expected to be at least that much.[9]

The Netherlands has the 16th largest economy in the world, and ranks 10th in GDP (nominal) per capita. Between 1998 and 2000 annual economic growth (GDP) averaged nearly 4%, well above the European average. Growth slowed considerably in 2001-05 due to the global economic slowdown, but the first quarter of 2006 showed promising growth of 2.6%. Inflation is 1.3% and is expected to stay low at around 1.5% in the coming years. Unemployment is at 5.5% of the labour force. By Eurostat standards however, unemployment in the Netherlands is at only 3.3% - the lowest rate of all European Union member states.[10].The Netherlands also has a relatively low GINI coefficient of 0.326. Despite ranking only 10th in GDP per capita, UNICEF ranked the Netherlands 1st in child well-being, outranking other nations with higher GDP's, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.^On the initiative of the Netherlands and Belgium, the Third Committee of the United Nations has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on UN member states to intensify efforts to combat all forms of violence against women and punish the perpetrators.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^A new project, funded by the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, to help the Government of Cte dIvoire and others in the region manage hazardous waste was launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands to assist the agency in promoting literacy.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Agriculture

A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. .The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the United States and France, with exports earning $55 billion annually.^The Association is made up of Dutch students who have worked or studied in the United States on a Fulbright scholarship.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^In a letter sent on behalf of the Dutch government, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende congratulated President Obama on his inauguration as 44th President of the United States of America.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

A significant portion of Dutch agricultural exports are derived from fresh-cut plants, flowers, and bulbs, with the Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total. The Netherlands also exports a quarter of all world tomatoes, and one-third of the world's exports of peppers and cucumbers.[12] The Netherlands' location gives it prime access to markets in the UK and Germany, with the port of Rotterdam being the largest port in Europe. .Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport.^On invitation of Dutch development minister Koenders, international development experts gathered this weekend in Amsterdam to discuss with the top of the World Bank Group the role of the Word Bank in a changing world.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^Dutch development minister Bert Koenders is taking part this week in the international AIDS conference 'Universal Action Now!'

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^The minister referred to a scorecard he has drawn up, comparing international organisations such as the UN and the World Bank.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

.The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners.^The Netherlands hopes that a coalition will soon be formed so that important issues can be dealt with promptly, the priority being a long-term solution to the crisis in Gaza.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

As a founding member of the Euro, the Netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the Guilder, on January 1, 1999, along with the other adopters of the single European currency. Actual Euro coins and banknotes followed on January 1, 2002. In the first years of the third millennium, economic and employment growth came to a standstill, which the government tried to resolve by reducing expenses.

Demographics

.The Netherlands is the 23rd most densely populated country in the world, with 395 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,023 sq mi)—or 484 people per square kilometre (1,254/sq mi) if only the land area is counted, since 18.4% is water.^The Netherlands is to sign a cooperation agreement with the World Bank and the British Department for International Development (DFID) aimed at tackling corruption and promoting good governance in developing countries.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

^By using violence against the opposition and the population at large, Robert Mugabe has forfeited the moral right to govern the people of Zimbabwe or to represent them outside the country.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

The fertility rate in the Netherlands is 1.7 children per woman, well below the 2.2 rate required for population replacement. It is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world. Internet distribution is at 73.3% the 5th highest in the world.[13]

The ethnic origins of the citizens of the Netherlands are diverse. A majority of the population, however, still remains indigenousDutch (although the latter notion is also to be relativized strongly). .They were: 80.8% Dutch, 2.4% German, 2.4% Indonesian (Indo-Dutch, Moluccan), 2.2% Turks, 2.0% Surinamese, 1.9% Moroccan, 1.5% Indian, 0.8% Antillean and Aruban, and 6.0% other.^Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian .

[14].However, this does not include the whole Kingdom of the Netherlands (such as the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, which have a non-Dutch majority community), and only includes the population in the Netherlands itself.^Dutch Ambassador Frank Majoor signed today, on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Welcome to The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations9 February 2010 16:47 UTCwww.netherlandsmission.org [Source type: News]

The Netherlands also has a resident population of some 800,000 people of Indo (mixed Dutch and Indonesian) descent.

The people of the Netherlands are amongst the tallest in the world, with an average height of about 1.81 metres for adult males and 1.68 m for adult females[15]

Languages

The official language is Dutch, which is spoken by a majority of the inhabitants, the exception being some groups of immigrants.

.There is a tradition of learning foreign languages in the Netherlands: about 70% of the total population have good knowledge of English, 55– 59% of German and 19% of French.^FlashCards can be consulted in English, Russian, German, Spanish, or French language.

Religion

Main article: Religion in the Netherlands

The Netherlands is one of the more secular countries in the world, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), although 62% are believers (but 40% of those not in the traditional sense). Fewer than 20% visit church regularly .[19]

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,[20] 34% of Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".

In 1950, before the secularization of Europe, and the large settlement of non-Europeans in the Netherlands, most Dutch citizens identified themselves as Christians. In 1950, out of a total population of almost 13 million, a total of 7,261,000 belonged to Protestant denominations, 3,703,000 belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 1,641,000 had no acknowledged religion.

However, Christian schools are still funded by the government and three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion and SGP) base their policy on the Christian belief system.

Dutch law takes very liberal stances on such controversial issues as abortion,[21] drugs and euthanasia.[22]

References

Footnotes

^van Krieken, Peter J.; David McKay (2005). The Hague: Legal Capital of the World. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9067041858., specifically, "In the 1990s, during his term as United Nations Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali started calling The Hague the world's legal capital"

.This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia.^But what makes this PhraseBook truly remarkable is that its contents can be spoken aloud in both languages using natural human voicing as recorded by native speakers.